The Changes in Our Lives: A High School AU
by Volix
Summary: Link was a drifter from Ohio who came to the high school with little more than a phone from 2011 and a longboard. Peach was the stereotypical valley girl from LA. When they, along with our beloved heroes from other games, attend Ninten Academy, they soon find out that nothing is as it seems. Will they be able to cope with the changes this new knowledge brings?
1. Chapter 1

Heya! This isn't meant to be that serious, just a stress relief. High School AUs are always goofy, and I wanted to make a story centered around one. The main focus will be on the characters that are actually in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, but the extended fandoms (and honestly any video games) are up for grabs. I'm totally up for suggestions.

Anyway, prepare for silly situations with (hopefully) well-written content. Without further ado, I present:

The Changes in Our Lives

Chapter 1

Link Everard wasn't quite sure where he came from. His adoptive parents always reminded him that he wasn't theirs, instead born in some faraway land. They never really felt like parents at all, just roommates who fed and clothed him. They never talked, and therefore, Link never talked back.

When the chance came to leave his home in some dumpy Ohio town, he took it without hesitation. He was promised a spot at some prestigious private school named Ninten Academy in a town a few miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. Why him, that bum who barely even survived normal school, he didn't know. Whatever, it was a ticket out of that shithole. The school helped him find an apartment for cheap. It wasn't very big, but he didn't need much space. He never spent much time at home anyway, drifting through town during the day and only returning to sleep.

He'd moved in two weeks prior to school beginning and found a job that didn't require him to speak more than necessary and would even hire a 16-year-old. Sure, it was at some frozen warehouse, but the cold was a nice break from the hot Arizona air. It paid well enough, giving him a little extra pocket money after all his expenses were taken care of. Maybe he could get that tablet he'd seen in the computer store.

That wasn't important, at least right then. Instead, it was time to get to school. He pulled his dirty blonde hair into a ponytail and went on his way. His apartment was close enough to the academy so that he could longboard his way. It was cheaper than a car, even if it was a pain to carry. The underside was sloppily given a custom paint job. He planned on making it look better eventually, but it wasn't a priority.

He saw the school's modern bell tower before anything else. Man, this place was classy as fuck. The rest of the school appeared as he rode over the hill, and damn. It was supposed to be exclusive. Why was the building so big? It was beautiful, with large glass windows and a sleek exterior. The front lawn was unnaturally green, with people milling around, waiting for their friends. Link didn't know anyone else, so he skated up to the front door before stopping.

"Hey, nice board!"

He turned and saw two girls that looked like they had been plucked right off the beach in California. The first girl was slightly taller than the other, though her wedge sandals may have contributed to that. Her thick blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off a cute face with round blue eyes. She wore a pink tank top and high waisted white shorts that would get anyone kicked out of public school. Her friend, the shorter one, had auburn hair that flipped out below her neck. Her face was more square, making her seem slightly older. Her clothes were similarly scandalous, with a yellow tank and orange athletic shorts.

The blonde smiled. "Did you paint it yourself?"

Link looked down to the board in his hand and nodded.

"It looks nice, man." The redhead grinned.

He wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he ducked his head down and walked inside. Conversations were never his strong suit. Once he got inside, he dug through his bag (a practical black backpack, large enough to hold his book and the tablet he'd rent from the school, but small enough to never be cumbersome) and found his schedule. His homeroom teacher was a guy named Mr. Waluigi. What kind of a name was that? Then again, his own name was Link.

Whatever. He made note of the room number and made his way down the hall. The tiles clicked beneath his boots as he walked, blending in with the chatter. There was a less gloomy air than his old school. People were actually excited to be here. Maybe he was too.

He walked into the classroom and immediately noticed the man at the desk. He was a spindly man dressed in all purple, a hat with an upside down 'L' to match. He was leaned back in this chair, feet on the desk and thumbs twiddling on his phone. If Link didn't know any better, he'd assume the man was a student. He had a mustache that twists similar to his joints, a large pink nose, and an impossibly long chin. The man barely looked human.

Link made his way to the back row where he planned on sitting. Unfortunately, there were name tags on the desks. He couldn't even choose where he sat. He sighed and found his desk. His name was sloppily printed a note card as if their teacher had made this only a couple of minutes before. He sat down and popped in his earbuds. He couldn't even select a song before the girl next to him spoke.

"Oh, you must be Link. I'm Zelda Hyles!"

"Uh, yeah." He glanced up, and holy hell. The girl, Zelda, was a fucking masterpiece. Two portions of her straight blonde hair were held in tails wrapped in teal and lavender ribbons than hung on either side of her bangs, framing her adorable face. Large, almost elven ears stuck out through the rest of her hair, yet somehow, it just worked for her. He swore he could get lost in her bright blue eyes. (What was up with everyone, including him, having blue eyes?)

"You okay?" Zelda tilted her head a bit, her soft smile faltering just slightly.

Link blinked and came back to reality. "Mhm."

She giggled a little. "Not one for words, are you?" He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. She shrugged in response. "That's alright, quiet is nice sometimes." She pulled out her phone from a pocket in her white sundress. "Do you have Snapchat?"

Despite being a shy fuck, he did, in fact, have Snapchat. He got out his phone (an old thing that he was surprised could even run the damn app) and let her add him, bringing his friend total to three.

"Oh, by the way, I suck at streaks, so, uh, don't expect that." Zelda bit her lip a little.

Link just shrugged. He wasn't the kind to care about that sort of thing anyway.

"Anyway, I'm so excited about this year! Brand new school, brand new people from all over the world! It's going to be so great!" She actually seemed genuinely happy to be in school. What an odd girl. Link couldn't help but smile along.

Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad.

0-0-0-0-0

"Well, that guy was weird." Peach Toadstool said to her cousin Daisy Sarasa as the skater boy just… walked away from their compliments.

"Oh well, there are plenty of hot guys in the school!" Daisy laughed a little. She leaned back and stretched her arms. "Though, honestly, I'm more excited for tennis here. Our old school sucked actual ass."

Peach smiled. "Yeah, it really did." She pulled a strawberry sucker out of her bag and unwrapped it. "We should probably get to class. Don't want to be late." She popped the sucker in her mouth as the two made their way to Mr. Waluigi's classroom.

The moment they arrived, Peach wanted to leave. The dude looked like some perv! She supposed since this was an invitation-only school that they'd have good teachers, but… eww! Trying to hold back her reaction in case the man noticed (not that he was likely to, given that he was probably looking up child porn on his phone), she went and found her desk. Unfortunately, she was across the classroom from Daisy, who was sitting next to some… pastel emo goth chick? Odd style, but everything just felt odd around here.

Once she realized who she was sitting next to, her mood instantly improved. A boy. A hot, blue-haired boy (The dye-job must have been recent, since even his roots looked blue) with a slightly feminine face and gorgeous blue eyes. She took a peek at his name tag. Marth Lowell. She could imagine herself with a normal last name like that. Peach Lowell. Way better than Toadstool. What kind of a last name was that, anyway?! She was lucky she was rich enough to avoid being bullied.

"Heya, can I ask you something?" Peach asked, pulling out the sucker and twirling her hair.

Marth sat up straighter. "Uh, sure?"

She bit her lip ever so slightly. "You see, I got lost in your eyes. Can you give me the directions to your heart?"

"I, uh, well, that was forward." The bluenette blushed. Gosh, he was adorable.

Peach just giggled. "No reason not to be. Life's too short to wait." She extended a hand. "I'm Peach, by the way."

"Marth. Pleasure to meet you." He shook her hand.

"So, you from around here?"

Marth shook his head. "Seattle. You?"

"Los Angeles. I'm already used to the heat, so the move here wasn't that bad." Peach ran a hand through her hair. She was considering cutting it shorter, maybe a length more like Daisy's. She threw a glance to her cousin, who was on her phone and tapping her foot impatiently. "Have any idea why you were invited here?"

Marth shook his head. "I mean, I'm a good student, but I didn't think I was good enough to be recruited by an out of state private school."

"Maybe it's just for rich kids?" She could tell Marth came from wealth from the way he held himself. He just had that air about him, you know? But as she looked around, that clearly wasn't the case. That skateboard kid from earlier was there, and if she was right (when it came to people, she usually was) he was the kind who lived on as little as possible. When he pulled it his phone, it confirmed her suspicions. "Do you know anyone else here?"

"My cousin Lucina goes here, and her dad's going to be teaching here, so that's pretty cool. Uncle Chrom is nice. There's also these kids Roy and Ike who went to school with me, but I never really got to talk to them. Roy's a year younger than me, and Ike's a year older." He shrugged. "I'll probably end up talking to them more now that they're the only people I know."

"Well, now you know me." Peach giggled. "My cousin Daisy also goes here. She's that redhead over there." Of course, Daisy wasn't paying attention. Oh well.

Unfortunately, before she could get to know Marth more, Mr. Waluigi stood up and commanded the students' attention. Peach instantly felt her skin crawl, but for a different reason. She felt like she knew him! It was weird, but she had to have seen him before. That made no sense, though. He was far too unique to be just a passing face on the street.

She wanted to leave the school. This felt really, really wrong.

"Does he give you the creeps too?" Peach whispered.

"Not particularly," Marth whispered back. "Why?"

"I know him, and not in a good way. I can't place it, though." She popped the sucker back in her mouth and gave it a thoughtful suck.

"I've already taken attendance, so no need for that." Mr. Waluigi said, his voice raspy and inhuman. "Many teachers would also have ice-breaker games here. Personally, those are really fucking stupid, so get to know each other on your own time."

"Oh thank God," Marth muttered under his breath.

Peach was more concerned that their teacher was okay with cursing in front of his students. Wasn't this supposed to be a better school than normal? She looked around, and other people had odd looks on their face. Skateboard Boy seemed mildly amused, while the girl next to him was straight up perplexed. Daisy was grinning like an idiot (after all, she hated school and was only here since Peach was), while the girl next to her seemed to be oblivious to everything.

"In about ten minutes, we'll be going to the are- auditorium for your welcoming into Ninten Academy. For now, feel free to talk amongst yourselves."

"So what was the point of getting our attention if you were just going to tell us to keep doing what we're doing?" Peach pulled the sucker out of her mouth to speak.

Marth just shrugged. "As long as we don't have to come up with interesting facts about ourselves, I'm happy."

"You know, I never got why people hate those. Everyone has interesting stuff about them."

"And how about you?"

"Let's see: Born and raised in LA; I can play tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, and I'm pretty good on a go-kart; I have a Shiba named Yoshi. Those are facts." Peach smirked. "When in doubt, say how many siblings or pets you have."

"An older sister and no pets."

"You see, an interesting fact!" Peach smiled. "I'm sure the other classes will have those."

"Plus I'm into fencing. That's probably unique." Marth rested his hand on his chin. "Still, don't you get nervous having to stand up in front of class and say that kind of thing?"

"Nope!" Peach popped the sucker back in and smiled.

"Should have suspected that."

The two spent the rest of the time getting to know each other. Marth was actually a pretty cool dude. Hopefully, he didn't have a girlfriend back home or something. Peach wanted him to herself.

0-0-0-0-0

The students were being dismissed to the arena, and Toriel Shephard was nervous. How were they going to take the news? Their entire lives were going to change, even her own children's. They didn't know their true natures. She spotted her youngest two, the twins named Frisk and Chara. Frisk waved at her as they walked by with the rest of her class.

She spotted her only son, Asriel, and tried her hardest not to cry. To everyone else, even himself, he looked like a normal boy. But after the assembly, everyone would know that he, too, was a monster. They'd know about all the nonhuman creatures who roamed their halls. They'd know the truth about everything.

Her son only had about 10 minutes of peace left.

"Isn't it exciting?" Wii Fit Trainer smiled her serene smile. "Everyone's going to find out the truth!"

Toriel thought about how devastated she felt when she realized that she was a monster. Instead of being the portly human kindergarten teacher she became in this world, she was meant to be a monster queen who lost her children. She learned her husband killed six more in a desperate quest to save all of monster kind.

It took all of her being to keep herself together. It really did.

"With all due respect, some of our pasts are things we'd like to forget."

"They won't remember their entire pasts." Wii Fit Trainer reassured her. "They're here to create a better future."

0-0-0-0-0

Susie Joyner had no fucking clue why she was invited to this dumbass school, but her father insisted that they move to Arizona the moment she got the invitation. Whatever. It wasn't like she had any ties at her old home.

She plopped down in one of the seats and got on her phone, barely moving her messy brown bangs out of her eyes. Some blonde bitch and a blue haired guy asked if the seats near her were taken. They weren't, but she told them they were anyway with a quick "Yeah, fuck off."

After a couple minutes, a short blonde woman tapped on the mic. Eh, may as well listen, at least for a moment.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Ninten Academy! You've all been invited here for a very special reason!" What, because they were all assholes from troubled homes or some shit? "Without further ado, I introduce you to our principal!" No name? Hmm. The woman moved away, and a man took her place.

"Thank you, Isabelle. I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here." Murmurs from the crowd. Yeah, no shit. "You all exhibit… unique characteristics that aren't able to be shown in this world. You all come from different planets, different realms."

Susie was tempted to leave, but was actually curious where this was going. It sounded so fucking absurd.

"When I snap my fingers, you will return to your true, non-Earthly forms, at least within the bound of this school. When you leave, you will appear as your Earthy selves. Anything that you speak of that's out of this world, so to say, will seem like Earthly speech. The school grounds are a special realm that your true selves are visible in." Okay, what the hell?

"Your bodies may change. Be prepared."

He snapped, and everything changed. Everything changed.

The first thing Susie noticed was that the principal was just a giant hand.

The second thing was her own body distorting. She had to go, she had to get out of here! Her skin was already turning from a middling brown to… purple. She could feel her face shifting, her body becoming… stronger. In moments, she'd made it out of the auditorium and into the bathroom.

She was a fucking_ lizard_! Her brown skin had turned a vivid purple, and her hair (while slightly more straight now) was dulled purple. Her normally brown eyes were a bright yellow. Her face became a snout, almost like a dragon. She let out the loudest, most furious scream she'd ever created. Her fist connected with the mirror, leaving the glass broken. A part of her wanted to cry, but not out of sadness. She was fucking pissed.

"Are you okay?"

Susie sharply turned her head to the voice. "Do I look okay?!" Yeah, seriously, no fucking shit. Who would be okay if their body just morphed into a monster?

The voice appeared to be just a single antler poking out from behind the bathroom door. "I, uhh, don't want to intrude."

She let her guard down a bit. Only a bit. "Did… something happen to you too?"

The girl came into the bathroom, appearing to be an anthropomorphic deer. She looked down at the ground, hands behind her back and knees bent in. "Uh, you could say that."

Susie just shook her head. "This place is so fucked up, man."

"My name's Noelle Holiday. I, uh, guess it's fitting." God, she looked so shy.

"Yeah? And I'm leaving." Susie stomped towards the door and made her way out. She didn't need any of this bullshit.

"Wait!" Noelle called, running out of the bathroom after her. Susie paused just for a moment. "I know this sucks. Trust me, I don't want to fight either, but…"

Susie raised an eyebrow. "Fight? Who said anything about that?"

"Didn't you hear? We're gonna learn to fight here in order to save the world." Noelle sighed. "But I'm not a fighter."

She didn't give a shit about saving the world, but fighting? Fuck yeah! She always needed a way to take out her anger. A wicked grin crept up her face. "You should have said something sooner!" Susie turned around and walked back to the bathroom. She pushed Noelle out of the way as she went to a less broken mirror to check herself out. You know, this form would be pretty awesome for fighting. And if it only lasted while they were in school?

Maybe she'd actually go to school now.

"I, uh, didn't catch your name," Noelle said.

"Oh, right." She chuckled. "I'm Susie Joyner, and I'm gonna kick some ass this year!"

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Yay, first chapter! This is hopefully going to be a long project, so be prepared. I'm always taking suggestions for characters to include and things to happen. Link and Peach are probably going to be the main characters, with the other two segments being for other characters. I do love doing modern spins on classic characters, and having a drifter boy and a valley girl dealing with all the weird shit? Sounds like a blast.

Last name explanations:

Link Everard (The Legend of Zelda) - Everard is a last name meaning "a hard and enduring personality." Fits well, no?

Zelda Hyles (The Legend of Zelda) - Stolen from the youtuber Caleb Hyles. Sounds like Hyrule.

Peach Toadstool (Super Mario) - Canon

Daisy Sarasa (Super Mario) - Taken from Sarasaland

Marth Lowell (Fire Emblem) - Canon

Toriel Shephard (and, by extension, her family; Undertale/Deltarune) - Goats are farm animals. Shephards work on farms. Plus, it's a real last name, so ayy.

Susie Joyner (Deltarune) - There's a meme in the Deltarune community that Susie, the purple dinosaur, is Barney's daughter. I gave her the last name of the actor who played Barney, who, fun fact, is now a Tantric Sex Therapist.

Noelle Holiday (Deltarune): Canon


	2. Chapter 2

It all made sense to Link. He'd always felt alienated, wherever he was. Knowing that he wasn't from this Earth was a relief. He didn't know his exact past, just that he used to explore and fight monsters.

Oh, and he was connected to Zelda. He didn't know the exact connection, but there was a reason he found her so pleasant to be around.

Neither of them had changed much in physical appearance. The only major change was their ears becoming even more elven. He supposed they both looked a little more cartoony, but compared to the people around them, nothing much had changed.

Their clothes were a different story, however. Zelda was dressed in a pinkish red dress with a white shawl and various belts and a blue… towel? hanging off her waist. Link was dressed in a blue tunic with khaki pants and giant boots. He looked fucking ridiculous, that's how he looked.

"I was a princess…" Zelda whispered to herself. She looked up at Link. "And you… you were my protector."

Protector. It seemed odd, considering he'd never been close to anyone. Who'd have thought some Ohio drifter would have been someone important in another life?

Many people weren't as lucky as he was. He heard wails and roars as people around him became monsters, demons. Zelda looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sure you're all wondering about your pasts. You will be given devices that have your backstory, your powers, and anything that can help you." One of the large floating hands… spoke? It was more like telepathy. "You see, you all once lived in your own worlds, but that all changed when my brother, Crazy Hand, decided he was bored. He went from world to world, rallying villains in order to upset the balance. He caused a shift in all realities, moving everyone here. The villains now have power, control here, while you were stuck living as human teenagers. Luckily, I've found a way to get all of you here so that you can hone your skills."

"Do you think they enchanted the invitations to make everyone accept?" Zelda whispered. "Or are some people not here?" Link just shrugged.

"Luckily, we have time before the villains start to really wreak havoc on this world. They won't catch on to our school for a while given the special enchantments. This school is our little secret." Link wasn't sure how the hand winked, but it did. "To the outside world, I'm known as Principal Ninten. However, you all can refer to me as Master Hand."

What the hell kind of name was that? Then again, everything was bonkers here. A sentient giant hand was the least of his worries.

"After this is all over, you will be free to return to your normal teenage lives. However, there will always be a place for you here at Ninten High." Master Hand disappeared into a puff of smoke. Isabelle, who was now a small round dog who walked on two legs, came up to the mic and dismissed everybody back to their homerooms.

"You know, Isabelle really is adorable." Zelda smiled a little bit, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone around them was still processing everything: their stories, their new bodies, the fact that their teachers were also weird creatures.

When they got back to their homeroom, Mr. Waluigi seemed even more exaggerated. How that was possible, Link had no clue. He handed each person their tablet as they came in.

"Is it bad that I don't want to look?" Zelda asked as they sat down. "Like, what if I find out I did some awful stuff in my other life?" She ran her thumb along the back.

Link unlocked it with his fingerprint. Luckily, it was divided into sections: Abilities, Backstory, Connections, School, Social. He showed it to Zelda, who sighed with relief. He understood; he didn't want to look at his past either.

His first stop was Abilities. In the tab were various moves he could use, weapon proficiencies, and a few magic spells that he could use. He'd take a closer look at it later, but he did notice that his main weapon was a sword. It made sense, to a degree. He was always fascinated by fencing and the like, even if he'd never gotten to actually do it.

He completely skipped over Backstory. That tab may stay unopened forever.

Connections also seemed risky, but he decided to open it anyway. Maybe there were other people here who he used to know? At the very top of the list was a literal pig of a man named Ganon. A red warning sign was next to his name, indicating that he was one of the villains that Crazy Hand had recruited. Ganon was apparently a powerful, destructive man who brought darkness and chaos wherever he went. Link and Zelda, along with the help of others, were always the ones to take him down. There was also some Triforce stuff that he didn't even pretend to understand. It was probably explained better in his backstory.

Zelda was the second highest on the list. It didn't disclose the exact nature of their relationship, only that they were bonded by the Triforce. He glanced over at her, and she seemed to be reading through her abilities.

There were a few more people listed, including: Impa, who was actually a teacher here; Paya, a young woman with a very shy expression; Midna, who looked like she'd be queen of the goths in real life; Malon, a girl who had a fondness for horses; Mipha, a shark girl; and Sidon, another shark, but this one was… strangely hot. How a fucking shark was hot to him, he had no clue. There were more, too, but he honestly couldn't get over the shark thing.

"How much does the 'Connections' tab give away?" Zelda asked, finger hovering over the screen.

Link shrugged. "Hot sharks, apparently."

"What?"

"Just brief descriptions," He corrected himself.

"Good. I wouldn't want to spoil things, but at the same time, I'd like to have friends, you know?" Zelda smiled faintly. "Though, I suppose I could also make friends with new people too."

Link nodded along. He wasn't super into the whole friend thing, but people like Zelda needed, well, more people.

He heard a scream, and turned around to see a cartoonish looking girl in a pink dress pointing at the teacher. Wait, was that that girl from earlier?

"You're a villain!" She yelled.

0-0-0-0-0

Peach didn't want to admit she was terrified, but Mr. Waluigi was right there at the top of her list. He was a villain. She knew it, even before the book, but now… it was actually true.

The entire class looked at her, causing her to blush. "S-seriously, it says it right here!" She showed off her tablet.

Mr. Waluigi sighed. "Technically, yes, but…" He grumbled a little. "I was left behind by the others. Apparently, the occasional sabotage of sports games with you all is considered villainy."

"Sports games?"

"You, I, and the rest of our world used to get together and play various sports. Tennis, golf, basketball, that sort of thing." He leaned back against the chalkboard and sighed. "Even your main villain Bowser. We could all set aside our differences to have fun. You'd know this if you actually read my file before assuming the worst."

Peach narrowed his eyes. "Surely Bowser can't be that bad, then."

Mr. Waluigi shook his head. "He was just lonely so he kidnapped you a bunch."

She took a step back, eyes widening. "And what did he do?"

"Put you in a cage and taunt Mario with you. You were never in any real danger." Mr. Waluigi pinched the bridge of his weird nose. "He'll be the easiest to get on our side. He just seems like he wants power and friends."

Peach relaxed a little bit, but still felt unnerved. "Fine, okay. Just… don't try any weird stuff, okay?"

Mr. Waluigi sighed. "Now, if there aren't going to be any distractions, we need to go over the rules before I send you to your next class." He started going over the rules in his awful voice.

Peach had already looked them over. They seemed pretty standard: attendance was mandatory, no doing illegal stuff, no fighting. Easy enough. She was usually the type to skip boring classes, but with all the weird shit going on, nothing was going to be boring.

Except for the rule speech, but those were always boring.

She got on her tablet and went to the social tab. It seemed to be similar to Facebook Messenger without all the ads. The only real difference were the chatrooms at the top. All three of them were empty, so Peach ignored them. She decided to search up Daisy and Marth and messaged them both with a [Hi!], including a kiss emoji afterward.

[Hey, pretty gal~] Daisy responded after a moment.

[I'm sitting right next to you. Why message me on here?] Marth's reply was only a moment later.

[So borrrred] to Daisy, then a [can't risk whispering. don't wanna get punished by /that/ creep]

[you're sitting next to a total hottie.]

[You say that like you're okay with other people punishing you.]

[he's soooooo cute] Oh, God she had a heart attack that she'd accidentally sent it to Marth. Thankfully, it was to Daisy. Her next message was to the cute boy. [handsome princes from faraway lands have a special pass.]

Marth cleared his throat a little too loudly. Everyone turned to the two of them, which cause Peach to smirk a little.

"Uh, sorry." Marth waved it off, and the teacher continued his spiel. Still, the redness on his face lingered.

[i'll let that sit with you for a bit.] Peach smirked and put away her tablet. Man, this was going to fun.

0-0-0-0-0

All Sora Hikari wanted were to find his former best friends Kairi Mizushima and Riku Yamada. It was weird, since he hadn't met them in this life, but he already felt so close to them. All he wanted was to skip all his classes and find them.

There were so many people he was excited to meet, but those two were the most important.

Unfortunately, none of them were in the locker room with him. It was a relatively small gym class, and since it was just General Fitness, they probably weren't going to play many sports.

He closed his locker and sighed. His uniform was in his hands, and… damn, was he going to have to change in front of a bunch of strangers? He looked around, and luckily, there were stalls. A few guys chose to forgo them, but not Sora. He went in one, quickly changed into the white t-shirt and blue athletic shorts, and went back to the locker marked with his name.

"Hey, uh, have you seen a locker that says 'Stahl Bauer' on it?" A green haired guy asked, looking confused.

Sora looked around for a bit, but didn't see it. "No, I-" Then he saw it. It was the locker right next to his. "Oh, it's right here."

"Oh, my Gods, I'm an idiot." Stahl laughed a little as he opened up his locker.

"S'okay, I'm not the brightest either." He smiled. "I'm Sora, by the way."

"I'm Stahl. Wait, you knew that." He laughed nervously and held out his hand.

Sora shook it. "Nice to meet you! Mind if we hang out? I haven't met anybody I'm supposed to know yet."

Stahl smiled. "I haven't either, so sure!"

After a few minutes, the two went out to the room they were supposed to meet in. It looked like some ballet room, like the one he took Taekwondo in at the YMCA back in California. Mirrors lined the back wall, and mats were scattered all over the floor. A woman with white skin (seriously, it was _white_, not just pale) and greyish black hair sat at the front, waiting patiently. He noticed her features had no color, like she was a mannequin or something.

Honestly, he'd seen so many furries here that their gym teacher being a mannequin wasn't that shocking.

He and Stahl found a couple of mats towards the center of the room. They ended up talking to the girl in from of them, Zelda. She seemed cool, infinitely smarter than him, but also kind. She had a guy next to her, Link, but he didn't really talk. Apparently, they'd found each other in class even before they knew they were close. He was happy for them.

"Sora?"

The girl who said his name looked so much like Kairi it hurt, but he could tell it wasn't her. Instead, she was blonde and looked… sad.

"Yeah, that's me. You're…" He recognized her from his tablet. "Namine?"

She smiled a little. "Yes, that's me. Do you mind if I sit with you guys?"

"Oh, sure, come on!" Sora grinned.

"I noticed you looked sad when you saw me. Were you looking for Kairi?"

"How'd you know?"

"I'm her sister. Kairi, Xion and I are all triplets. Well, in the normal world, anyway. Things are complicated in our world." Namine looked down. "Our normal lockers are right next to each other. She's been looking for you too, along with Riku. I can take you to them after class."

Sora's eyes lit up. "Really? That would be amazing!"

Namine smiled serenely. "Of course."

The five talked for a little while before class started. Namine managed to coax a few words out of Link when she mentioned she drew. They agreed to exchange sketchbooks sometime. Stahl and Zelda also got along pretty well, which was nice. Stahl seemed easy going enough to get along with anybody, and had a good read on people.

Eventually, the teacher stood up. "Hello, class. Welcome to your General Fitness class. I am the Wii Fit Trainer, but you can simply call me Trainer or Ms. Trainer." Everyone nodded in response. "In this class, we will be hoping to improve all aspects of your physical abilities. You will be graded on effort and improvement rather than raw stats. Most mornings, we'll start with a yoga exercise to stretch, then either work on agility, strength, or endurance. Today, however, will be calm. I'll teach you various yoga poses, and then we'll have time to talk. After all, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."

Class went pretty smoothly. Sora was in no way good at yoga, but he managed to at least get the easier poses down. When Ms. Trainer came by, she just told him to relax. She had some sort of soothing aura about her, which helped Sora to do better. Link and Zelda were both great at it. Stahl seemed to be perfectly average at it. Namine was decent, but seemed to have trouble with anything that required holding her body weight up.

Afterward, they all continued to get to know each other a little better. Sora and Namine talked about all the weird shit they'd seen written in their backstories. Stahl absentmindedly speculated what lunch was going to be like, earning a silent yet approving smile from Link. Zelda started talking about all the food she liked, and soon, everyone was talking about food. Unfortunately, they all had another two classes before lunch.

A few minutes before the bell rang, Ms. Trainer dismissed them to get back into their normal clothes.

His heart pounded. He was about to meet the two most important people in his life. When the bell rang, he followed Namine down the halls.

There they were: Kairi and Riku, standing by a black haired girl's locker and laughing.

He couldn't contain himself. "Kairi, Riku!" He started running towards them.

"Sora!" Kairi grinned, matching his pace and catching him in a bear hug. Riku joined in too, and Sora began crying.

"I know we haven't met before, but… I already feel like I know you guys!" He held them tight, because he was never letting them go. Not again.

"I feel the same way." Kairi started sobbing too.

Riku laughed a little. "Guys, you're going to make me cry too." Of course, they weren't the only people excited to meet each other. All around them, they could hear people reuniting with people they'd never met.

These were his best friends. Everything was going to be okay.

0-0-0-0-0

"Oh, my _God_!" Larxene Raiden groaned as she leaned back against the wall. "We could have been villains, but that jackass left us behind?!" Her fists slammed against the cool white wall. Fuck.

"I'm afraid so." Marluxia Sakura leaned back next to her, expressionless.

It was kind of funny, actually. They were connected in real life and in this bullshit fantasy world. They were both Arizona trashbags who traded favors for weed and weren't afraid to kick people's guts in. It wasn't all sunshine and daisies, but gang life was preferable to the home she grew up in.

The fact that she was in another gang in the fantasy world made her giggle.

Normally, she didn't give a shit about school, but not only were they invited, but we're also given financial assistance? Hell, she went just for the fancy ass food. Plus, a bunch of rich kids to steal from? Score!

She barely questioned why her invitation letter arrived at Marluxia's house instead of her father's. She definitely didn't question why it called her Larxene instead of her given name, Elrena.

But the fact that they were excluded from their fantasy boss Xemnas's plans and left to live out an awful life where they barely scraped by pissed her off. Apparently, she wasn't good enough for him. Her fists clenched even tighter. Like hell she wasn't good enough. How could someone who could apparently _teleport_ and _shoot fucking lightning bolts_ not be good enough?

Every bone in her body vowed revenge.

Marluxia's hand covered one of her own, and she relaxed. He was the only constant in her life, and even if he was kind of awful, he was there.

He was there.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Heya! Honestly, with Kingdom Hearts 3 having recently come out, I just had to write these goofballs. Also, there's probably going to be some odd crossover friendships, but that's the fun of crossovers, no? Sora and Stahl seem like they'd play off each other well, and Namine and Link would probably get along pretty well too.

Character relations in Kingdom Hearts get weird, so I'll try to keep everything… normalish. Roxas and Ventus will likely be twins. Everyone else will probably be unrelated.

Have any character, friendship, or pairing suggestions? Let me know!

Last name explanations:

Sora Hikari (Kingdom Hearts): I see this one pretty commonly, and it's the name of the man song from the first game.

Kairi, Namine, and Xion Mizushima (Kingdom Hearts): Japanese surname meaning "water island". All three of their names have to do with water, so I thought it was fitting.

Riku Yamada (Kingdom Hearts): Japanese surname meaning "mountain rice paddy". His name is a play on Earth, so I thought it was fitting.

Stahl Bauer (Fire Emblem): Germans last name meaning "neighbor".

Larxene Raiden (Kingdom Hearts): Japanese words for Thunder and Lightning

Marluxia Sakura (Kingdom Hearts): Japanese for 'Cherry Blossom'. Maybe a bit too on the nose.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sora and Stahl were really nice, don't you think?" Zelda asked as they walked to their English class.

Link nodded, more worried about class. He was never that good academically. And besides, weren't they trying to save the world? Who cared if they could write a paper?

"Oh, and Namine! She was quiet, but sweet, you know?"

"Mhm." Honestly, he thought she was sweet too. Besides, it was always nice to find another artist, you know?

"Anyway, I think this is Ms. Shephard's room." Zelda walked in, and Link followed her in.

The woman standing up front seemed to be some goat lady. Honestly, he wasn't even fazed. The desks were arranged in groups of four, and Zelda had already sat down with a goat boy - possibly Ms. Shephard's son? The fourth seat was empty.

"Oh, uh, howdy guys." The goat boy said, a slight southern accent permeating his voice.

Zelda smiled. "Howdy! I'm Zelda, and this is Link. What's your name?"

"Asriel Shephard." The boy reached out a paw, but quickly retracted it upon noticing that it was, in fact, a paw.

"Oh, then is Ms. Shephard your mom?"

Asriel looked up at the woman, who was drawing a large snail on the board. "Yeah, but… she doesn't look like it anymore."

Link gave a sympathetic look. Yeah, that would suck.

Zelda reached out her hand. "It must be rough, yeah?"

"Yeah. Feeling yourself become a real-life furry is… definitely weird. Seeing your mom as one is even weirder." And in that moment, Link realized that there were people who'd be very excited to be like Asriel.

Fucking furries.

A moment later, a red shark boy walked in. Sidon. Fuck, he was hot in person too.

And, because of course he did, he sat at their table, filling the last desk. "Hey, guys, how are you?" He didn't seem at all phased that he was a fish, instead just grinning like nothing weird was happening.

Link just shrugged. Zelda said she was doing pretty okay, all things considered. Asriel stayed silent.

"Come on, it's just until we leave school. It's like a big costume party!" Sidon grinned. "Oh, and you two are Link and Zelda, right? Said I know you in the tablet thing. I'm Sidon Sturgeon, by the way!"

"Yes, that's us. I'm glad to finally meet you." Zelda extended her hand, and he shook it enthusiastically.

"You know, I pictured you with a British accent. Huh." Sidon's grin seemed to never fade. "And according to your entry, you don't talk much, Link, so I never came up with a voice for you."

"Well, now you have one." Link tried not to sound smug.

"And you, I don't know you. What's your name?" Sidon turned to Asriel.

"Oh, howdy, I'm Asriel." He smiled a little.

"Nice to meet you!" He grinned.

After a couple moments of chatting (mostly between Zelda and Sidon, but Asriel joined in too), Ms. Shephard called attention to the class. "Welcome, students! My name is Toriel Shephard, but you can just call me Toriel. Or Ms. Shephard, or whatever you like, so long as it's kind."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, let me tell you about myself. I have four children who all go here, one of them is even in here! Asriel, wave to everyone."

He gave a sheepish (or should he say, goatish) wave, and luckily, no one laughed.

"I enjoy reading, raising snails, knitting, baking, and teaching. If I could have taught a cooking class, I would have, but I suppose English is more important. Just because we're focused on saving the world doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for our lives afterwards, after all."

Like hell if Link was going to stay on Earth. He had no one here, no reason to be prepared for living in this hell longer than a few months.

"And while I'm an English teacher, I also want to help you grow as people. Even after you leave here, no matter where you go, I want you all to promise to be good." She gave a serene smile, like she was already proud of them and knew they'd succeed.

"Anyway, since you're all classmates, you should all get to know each other, right?" She grinned as she got up and started passing papers around. Oh no. An icebreaker. Link was sure he'd managed to avoid those. "We'll be playing People Bingo!"

Link took the paper from her. On it were various squares with things like "Has an unusual hair color", "Is from another state", and "likes Butterscotch Cinnamon pie" in them.

"The goal of the game is to fill each square with someone's name! Try to avoid repeats, although I suppose you may have to repeat for the last couple… anyway, go get to know each other! And I can fill in a square, if you'd like to get to know me too!"

Sidon looked over his sheet. "Well, hey, if you need someone who can swim, I can fill that space!" Well of course he could.

"And I can play multiple instruments, if you'd like me to sign yours." Zelda smiled.

"Oh, what instruments?"

"I played the flute in middle school band, I can play a few songs on the ocarina, harp, a little guitar. Been thinking of picking up the ukulele."

"I can play the ukulele." Link said, probably the longest sentence he'd said that day.

"Oh, cool! You should teach me, if you want." Zelda gave a soft smile, and Link blushed.

"Yeah, uh, sure."

"Anyway, Link, what other squares do you fill?" Asriel asked as he got his paper back from the other two.

Link looked over the paper. Sure, he wasn't from Arizona, but most people probably weren't. He couldn't do sports, and he'd never tried Butterscotch Cinnamon pie. However, he could draw. He took the paper and put his name in the square.

Eventually, everyone had to start mingling.

The people around seemed alright. Marth, that blue-haired boy from his homeroom, filled in the "Plays an unusual sport" section, marking down that he fenced. This cute girl with wine colored hair, Kairi, -wait, wasn't she the girl Sora and Namine mentioned earlier? He hoped they'd find each other- filled in the spot saying that she'd been to the beach. A silver-haired boy, Riku, was about to fill in the beach section before he noticed Kairi had signed it. He thought for a moment before signing the "Knows someone else who goes here" segment.

As far as icebreakers went, he supposed it wasn't too bad. He didn't have to talk much, just sign papers and move on. Luckily, that took most of the class period, but Ms. Shephard called the class's attention a few minutes before the bell.

"One last thing! If you'd like some extra credit, some other teachers and I have developed a scavenger hunt around town. The due date is the end of the semester, so there's certainly no rush. Hopefully it can encourage you to get out and explore your surroundings. Come get it from my desk as you leave today!"

When the bell rang, he grabbed one with Zelda. She seemed really into the idea, and Link figured he could just do it as he went about his life. He glanced over it, and a fair amount of it was taking selfies at various locations. Wouldn't be too hard, right?

0-0-0-0-0

Peach wasn't excited about her General Science class one bit. Science was never her thing. Why did it matter to her why things worked the way they did? Then again, she was going to be a model before all of this, so it made sense why she couldn't be bothered by this.

The only thing that saved her life was the Marth was sitting next to her. It was nice to see him after being separated for two class periods, having previously had History with Mr. Shephard and Basic Math with Mr. Waluigi.

"Mr. Waluigi still gives me the creeps, you know?" Peach sighed as she rested her head on the counter. Each counter that extended out from the walls had four seats around them, and the two remaining ones at Peach's were empty.

Not for long.

A girl walked in, long blue hair flowing behind her. She looked regal, just like Marth. Wait, she looked nearly exactly like Marth. Was this his cousin? Damn, they were almost identical.

"Hey, Lucina!" Marth waved her over, and she gave a slight smile before heading over. "Peach, this is my cousin that I was talking about earlier. Lucina, this is Peach; she's in my homeroom."

Lucina sat down across from her and extended her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!" Peach grinned. "So, are you sure you're just cousin's and not twins separated at birth?"

Lucina and Marth looked at each other and sighed. "Yeah, at least in this world," Marth said. "Things are different in our homeworld."

Peach didn't pry, no matter how much she wanted to. She knew that a lot of people didn't have the mostly pleasant, fun-filled backstory that she had. The whole kidnapping thing seemed harmless as Mario always came to save her.

Mario. She hadn't seen him at school yet, but apparently, he and his brother Luigi were here. They seemed alright, but a part of her didn't want to meet them, not really. She felt kind of bad, since they'd saved her life a bunch, but there were so many other people.

She'd find them later.

A couple minutes later, an adorable pink puffball floated in their fourth seat. Peach couldn't help but squeal in delight. They were so cute!

"Hi, I'm Kirby!" The pink puffball exclaimed, and oh my gosh, it was so adorable!

"Nice to meet you, Kirby! I'm Peach!" She extended a hand, and Kirby touched it with his little nub it had in place of an arm.

"This whole thing is so weird, but apparently I can float while I'm here, so that's pretty cool, I guess!" He (at least, Peach had a feeling Kirby was a he, and she was typically right at guessing normal animal's genders, so maybe that applied) seemed confused about everything, but amused at the same time.

Marth chuckled a little. "Isn't it weird being so small?"

Kirby laughed. "Well, I was already pretty short, so it didn't change much!"

The four of them talked a bit about how different everything was before the teacher, a yellow dinosaur woman in a lab coat, called attention to the class. "U-uh, hello students! I'm Dr. Alphys. Today, we'll be doing a super simple lab in order to show you how labs will be structured!" She started passing around paper, one at each station. Lucina was the one to read first in their groups.

"All of the materials will be located in the center of the room. Usually, we'd, uh, have a learning section before, but this is just to show how labs work. We'll learn the concepts behind it later." Strange, but okay. If it meant there wasn't going to be a lecture, Peach was fine with it.

Lucina pushed the paper to the center of the counter. "Okay, so we need a styrofoam plate filled with milk, a small cup of dish soap, a Q-Tip, and a couple different colors of food coloring." She smiled a bit. "I think we did this lab back in Seattle, Marth. Anyway, I can get the milk if someone else wants to get the other stuff."

Peach got up, since she was closest to the end. She filled the small cup, like the kind you get ketchup in, with the dish soap, then grabbed a Q-Tip and two small bottles of food coloring (pink and purple, because of course). On her way back, she bumped into the cute skater boy, whose name (she was pretty sure) was Link. He muttered a quick sorry, and Peach gave him a wink before walking back to her group. She glanced back, and he seemed frozen for a sec before continuing on his way.

"Alright, cool. Now, we need to put a few drops of food coloring into the milk in random spots." Lucina said.

Peach took the pink bottle, and Marth took the purple. Kirby floated up to stand on the table and watched as they put in the drops. "Nice colors!"

"Thank you!" Peach smiled. Kirby was such a cute little puffball.

"Next, we need to take the Q-Tip, dip it in the soap, and then put it in the middle of the plate. Marth, you wanna do that?"

He shrugged, and when he did, the milk seemed to be repelled, causing the food coloring to move like art.

"Whoa, that's cool!" Kirby grinned. "It's super pretty!"

"Oh, I love this experiment. Anyway, on to the questions. Why do you think this happened?" Lucina asked.

"I don't fuckin' know." Peach laughed. "It looks cool, though."

"Something to do with the molecules hating each other, right?" Marth said, resting his head on his hand.

"Yeah, I think so. Doesn't really matter, but yanno. Honestly, if you want, I can fill the questions out. I can tell you guys are bored."

Kirby hopped up. "I'll help!"

Peach, however, took the opportunity to completely tune out of class and instead get on her tablet. She went to Social (because of course she did) and instead of private messaging someone, she decided to try her luck with the chatrooms. The first one showed two people, so Peach figured she'd join in. After all, she'd meet some new people, right?

[Console] Welcome Peach T to the chat!  
Daisy S PEACH

Rosalina T Oh, hey, you're the girl Daisy was talking about, right?

Peach T DAISY

Peach T oh yeah, she's my cousin lol

[Console] Welcome Stahl B to the chat!

Peach T hi there!

Stahl B Hello! What classes are you guys in?

Daisy S Art class with Mina. I'm like 90% sure she's blazed off her ass.

Rosalina T Science

Peach T wait with alphys?  
Rosalina T Yeah

Stahl B Me too!

Peach looked around, and sure enough, a boy with greenish hair was waving at her from a few tables away, and the pastel emo chick gave a faint smile from the station across from him. She waved at both of them, then turned to her tablet.

Stahl B The lab was super quick lol

Peach T it was

[Console] Welcome Demyx H to the chat!

[Console] Welcome Samus A to the chat!

[Console] Welcome Tifa L to the chat!

Stahl B Welcome, guys!

Samus A so is this for school only stuff or can we talk about other stuff too?

[Console] Welcome Aqua C to the chat!

Daisy S i think it's for whatever we want?

Aqua C Hello!

Tifa L hi guys

[Console] Welcome Pit I to the chat!  
[Console] Welcome Susie J to the chat!

Susie J ****

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!  
Susie J thats dumb

[Console] Say goodbye to Susie J!

Aqua C Why would someone just… get on and swear?

Stahl B It happens everywhere.

[Console] Welcome Roy E to the chat!

Roy E Hey, guys :D

[Console] Welcome Mackenzie L to the chat!

Peach T have you guys looked at what kind of stuff is gonna be in the cafeteria? i heard its buffet stuff that rotates daily.

Aqua C Really? That's awesome!

Stahl B i love buffets! I also saw something about premade sandwiches and stuff.

Daisy S Three words: Founatin. Cherry. Coke.

Daisy S fountain*

Rosalina T ooooooo

Roy E Honestly i'm a slut for cherry cock

Roy E Coke* oml

Daisy S BAHAHAAHAHA

Samus A Freudian slip?

Peach T thats the guy who wanted to sleep with his mom right?

Demyx H omg what?

[Console] Welcome Riku Y to the chat!

Riku Y What the **** did I walk in to?

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!  
Riku Y brb messaging console because that's the only correct response to this.

[Console] Welcome Marth L to the chat!

Roy E marth HELP

Marth laughed a little next to her. "I mean, he's a slut for cock too." He bit his lip, stifling his laughter. "Sorry, that was crude."

Peach smirked and pulled out another strawberry sucker. "Looks like I have some competition, hmm?" She popped it into her mouth, being overly flirty. She was well aware of other's perceptions of her, and instead of being offended, she played it up instead.

Marth blushed and turned back to his screen. Satisfied with his reaction, Peach went back to her own.

Daisy S i screenshotted it, you're dunzo

Roy E you suck

[Console] Welcome Ike G to the chat!

Marth L Apparently, you're the one who sucks

Demyx H OOOOOOOOOH

Daisy S djshfldahskjd

Ike G he's right you know

Peach T oi, i suck too :(

Riku Y again, what the actual **** is happening?

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!

Aqua C Y'all realize that this is an official school chat, so the teachers can probably see, right?

Peach T …

Demyx H crap

Tifa L honestly that's why i've been so quiet

Stahl B I always keep it PG, gotta be that good farmer boio

Roy E oh god the teachers saw my **** up

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!

Demyx H wait why isn't slut in the filter?

Peach T oh my god u right

[Console] Welcome Link E to the chat!

[Console] Welcome Mipha S to the chat!

Mipha S Oh, hey Link, apparently we know each other! I heard you met my brother, he said you were cool.

Link E nice

Stahl B hey, you're that guy from gym! Why didn't you join me in class?

Link E *shrug*

Rosalina T Our table was already full…

Stahl B oh, right

[Console] Welcome Axel R to the chat!

Axel R let's **** shome **** up!

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!

Axel R that's dumb

Samus A Agreed. They shouldn't restrict our freedom of speech.

Aqua C It's a private school though?

Samus A …

Ike G can we vote to remove the filter?

Riku Y absolute support

Axel R yeah **** this noise

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!

Daisy S fvck

Daisy S there

Demyx H my hero

Axel R Please worship our lord and savior, Daisy the Fvck God.

Daisy S honestly that would be Peach's title but yanno

Peach T you know it ;)

Axel R *raises eyebrows* you'll have to demonstrate

Peach wasn't entirely sure how to respond, mostly because she was sitting next to a guy she already liked. But hey, there was a good chance that she may not see everyone after the year was over. Why shut down an opportunity so quickly?

Peach T you'll have to come find me sometime ;)

And with that, she'd decided she'd had enough of the group chat. Part of her hated to leave so early, but the chance to tease a guy like that was too tempting to pass up. She could get on later if she wanted to. Besides, there was a cutie to talk to right next to her (and his equally attractive cousin).

0-0-0-0-0

Samus Aran had never stayed in one place too long. When Dad said they'd be moving to Arizona, she'd thought nothing of it. There was an Air Force base (Samus had already forgotten the name; there were so many in her life that she stopped keeping track) close to where their school was, and she'd be able to stay all year. Then, once she graduated, she too could join the Air Force.

That was, until she found out about her other life.

Her mother in this universe was dead. Samus watched her get shot when she was three.

To know that the same thing had happened in her other life… it pissed her off to no end. And now she was expected to sit down and learn math? Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. She needed to go for a run.

Ridley had killed her parents. Now, Ridley could do so much harm here. After all, whatever that Crazy Hand magic had done seemed to make the real world turn a blind eye to his manipulative, narcissistic nature.

He was going to pay.

Still, like the dutiful student she was, she went to class. It was unlikely that they'd throw her out, considering her skills both in this world and the other, but she didn't want to deal with the bullshit that would come with it.

When she walked into class, a large catlike humanoid floated in front of the blackboard. Was that thing her teacher? Eh, she'd already learned not to freak out. A couple students hadn't, as they audibly gasped behind her.

She adjusted her backpack, letting it hang off her shoulder as she went to a group of four desks. Three of them were already filled, one with an elf girl with long blonde hair, one with a tall (well, compared to other girls. She still paled in comparison to Samus) girl with blue hair, and the last with a girl (maybe) who appeared to be a humanoid deer. "Hey, is this seat taken?"

"No, go ahead! I'm Zelda, by the way." The blonde smiled and extended her hand.

"Samus. Nice to meet you," She said curtly, giving Zelda's hand a firm shake. The girl seemed a little prissy, but honestly, not as bad as some people here. Like this girl in her History class, Peach. Ugh, what an actual princess. How could anyone know what had happened in their own worlds and still be so goddamn happy?

"I'm Aqua, it's good to meet you." She also extended her hand, and then another firm handshake. "Wow, that's a nice shake."

"Thanks. Dad taught me that it impresses the right kind of people." At least she had a dad in this universe. She couldn't imagine what it was like in her old life, watching them both die. She couldn't think about that now. She looked over to the deer girl. "And how about you?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Noelle. I'm not comfortable with handshakes right now." She gave a weak smile, and Samus returned it.

"Must be rough, being in a completely different body." Of course, Samus wasn't completely human, but she looked the part. Noelle… didn't.

Noelle just nodded, and a silence fell over the table. It was soon interrupted by the teacher addressing the class.

"Good morning, students. You may call me Mr. Mewtwo. I will be your Advanced Math teacher. Your syllabus, textbook, and assignments will all be on your tablet, as I would rather not waste paper. However, you will be turning your homework in on paper so I can see that you're doing adequate work. Understood." The class murmured in agreement. "Good. Now, I don't like wasting anything, and certainly not time. This first week will be a review of concepts you should already know, based on your transcripts, and then we will move on to more complex topics. If at any point you feel like you're not prepared for this class, come talk to me so we can send you to the basic class."

Everyone at Samus's table seemed unfazed. Good, at least she wasn't surrounded by dumbasses.

"I will be going over the topics briefly to get your minds going, and then you'll do the assignment. You may work in your group, but make sure you understand the concepts individually. You may also use your tablet to access the textbook, but no other devices that can access the internet. Understood."

Mr. Mewtwo then proceeded to go over the first section. It was basic graphing stuff that she'd learned her sophomore year, nothing that she didn't already know. Still, the reminder was nice. His lecture ended after about ten minutes, and then their group got to work. Luckily, Noelle put her tablet so that they could both see the assignment, so Samus logged onto the chatroom and checked it every so often. Nothing seemed particularly interesting, though she did chuckle a bit at Roy's fuck up, but the rest just seemed like small talk and mindless flirting.

Their group, after every few problems, would check their answers against each other. Everyone seemed to be on the right path, which relieved Samus. She hadn't forgotten everything. Aqua and Zelda chatted, seemingly getting along well. Samus and Noelle both kept to themselves.

After they finished their assignments and turned them in, Mr. Mewtwo checked their work (surprisingly quickly, though he did seem to be a psychic), and upon confirming that they'd done everything right, dismissed them early. It was only a few minutes, but it was still nice to walk around for a bit.

"So, guys, are you enjoying it here?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, I am! I've met a lot of really nice people." Aqua grinned, turning around to walk backwards and face the group. "And it's weird, but I can't wait to try out my new skills, you know?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm pumped about that!" Samus smiled a little. After all, plasma guns and the like seemed badass. She could fuck up some bad guys with those.

Noelle seemed a little more reserved. "I mean, I like a lot of things about it, but some parts…"

"Hey, it's only temporary, right?" Aqua gave her a weak smile. "I know that doesn't help much, but…"

"Yeah, I know. If I can get through the day, I think I'll be fine." Noelle smiled a little. "Or, at least, better."

"That's good." Zelda also smiled. "Hey, would you guys like to sit with me at lunch?"

Aqua frowned a bit. "Sorry, I'm meeting up with a couple friends that I knew in my old life. If you don't mind, maybe I could bring them over?"

"Oh, sure, that's cool!"

"And I think I'm going to try and find this girl I talked to earlier. She, uhh, seems like needs a friend." Noelle seemed to blush a little, but it was hard to tell underneath her fur.

Zelda smiled again. "That's good! Well, you two are free to come sit with us, if you want. Samus, what about you?"

Samus had planned on eating her lunch then going for a quick jog through the halls, but eh, may as well sit with people while she ate. Even if she didn't talk much, having people around her was comforting. And besides, Zelda seemed chill enough. "Sure, why not."

Soon enough, the bell rang, and the group went to the cafeteria. Aqua found her friends almost immediately, and waved the group a quick goodbye. Noelle seemed to find her girl, a purple dinosaur, and then it was just the two of them. "So, who are we looking for?"

"Well, my friend Link, mainly, but I've met a few people." Zelda scanned the room. "Let's get our food first, since I don't think he's here yet." She then went up to the lunch line, and because Samus had nothing better to do, she followed. There were three buffet lines, but it looked like they had the same food, so they got in the shortest line. The food all looked delicious! It looked like all the best stuff from Denny's, both lunch and breakfast. She grabbed herself a waffle, and then plenty of bacon and sausage.

After she got her food, she followed Zelda to one of the long tables. The back half was a long booth, while the front was a normal set of seats, two at each table. Zelda sat on the booth side, and Samus sat across from her. The cafeteria was loud, but not any worse than any public school. While Samus ate her food, Zelda kept looking around, barely picking at her salad.

"Dude, I know you're looking for your friend, but you need to eat," Samus said in between bites of waffle.

Zelda frowned slightly. "I know, but…" Her eyes lit up, and she waved to someone. Samus turned around and saw a blue-clad blonde heading over to their table, tray of food already in his arms. He sat down next to her, smiling just a bit. "Link, this is my friend Samus from Advanced Math. Samus, this is my friend Link, from homeroom, and apparently, our other lives."

Friend was a strong word for only having known each other for an hour, but Samus wasn't going to say something and be rude. She extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Link."

He shook her hand with a firm grip, nodding in what she assumed to be agreement. "Quiet type, I assume?" Samus asked. He nodded again.

Zelda started telling him about her classes, and Link just sat there and listened. He didn't seem to mind, though, instead just being a quiet listener.

"Man, it's a shame the food here is so good," Samus said after a while. "I'm joining the Air Force right after I graduate, so I'm going from this to… that." She chuckled a little.

"I was thinking of joining the military." Link shrugged.

"Oh, really?" Samus quirked an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Don't have much else to do with life."

Zelda gave a slight frown, while Samus just shrugged. "It's not an easy decision, but if it's what works for you, go for it."

Link gave another small smile and nodded.

"Hey, do you mind if we sit here?" A girl asked as she sat down next to Samus. Ugh, it was Peach. Just great.

Just Peachy.

Samus hated herself for that joke.

"No, go ahead!" Zelda smiled. Of course. Oh well, at least she meant well.

"Thanks! I'm Peach, by the way!" She smiled as her two friends sat at the table next to them.

"Hi, I'm Daisy!" The redhead in the yellow dress said. Gods, her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Samus gave a glance to Link, who seemed equally as bothered.

The other blonde gave a slight wave. "Rosalina." She then started staring off into space.

Zelda, seemingly oblivious to her companions' flights, began talking to them. Samus, at least, could tune them out, but poor Link was surrounded by the chatty girls. He did his best to shrink back, but it didn't help that Daisy was essentially squishing him to get closer to the conversation. Poor thing.

"Hello, ladies. Are these seats taken?" Samus glanced over to see two blue-haired boys, a blue-haired girl who looked nearly identical to the shorter boy, and a redheaded boy all stood near the new girls.

Peach's eyes lit up instantly. "Of course they're not, Marth! Sit down!"

Ah, cute boys. The best way to distract vapid valley girls. Though, she had to admit, the taller of the blue-haired guys was actually pretty handsome. It wasn't like she intended to pursue a relationship, given the fact that she was going from here to basic at the end of the year, but admittedly, having someone to look at was nice. She was pretty sure he was in Advanced Math with her, so that was nice.

But Samus had other things on her mind, much more pressing than handsome boys or vapid girls.

She was planning her revenge.

0-0-0-0-0

When Demyx Harper got his invitation, his mother insisted he go. It was a good opportunity, get out of the Florida shithole he and his four younger siblings lived in. She didn't even notice that it was addressed to Demyx, and not his dead name.

He honestly wasn't sure why he was invited. He certainly wasn't the smartest, and since he'd started on testosterone, he couldn't participate in swim team anymore. None of his friends seemed to know why, but he just rolled with it.

At the opening ceremony, when his body transformed, he nearly cried. Even if it was temporary, being in the right body just made him so happy. For once, he didn't want to leave school.

Learning that he was once a villain tore that right back down. All his life, he'd tried to be good to do his momma proud, but in the other life… where had he gone wrong? A part of him didn't want to know, so he left that section of his tablet unopened.

He tried to make friends with people, but a lot of them were stuck in their own heads. Didn't they know that talking to people was, like, the best way to help? The first real friend that stuck was this kid Sora, apparently a hero from his own world. Demyx wasn't sure why Sora would want to be his friend, but then Sora piped in with a "Well, you're here, so that must mean there's still good in you!"

It took all his effort not to hug him right then and there.

The two twins at their table, Namine and Xion, were also from their world. Xion was part of the same organization as Demyx, but for whatever reason, wasn't categorized as a villain. They seemed nice, but Namine was quiet and Xion… well, she was sweet, but she started crying at every little thing. Happy, sad, mad, didn't matter.

It was a stressful day, so Demyx didn't blame her.

Sora invited him to sit with them at lunch, but Demyx had a few more people he wanted to sit with. Marluxia, from his math class, who seemed remarkably straight for having pink hair; Larxene, from his history class, who was a total bitch, but at least she was funny; Luxord, also from History, who spent most of class shuffling his deck of cards; and Axel, who he hadn't met yet, but he was cute.

So, Demyx went and found them. They were at a booth in the corner of the cafeteria, and at first, Demyx was a little nervous. After all, Marluxia and Larxene were basically eating each other's faces in between rounds of whatever card game they were playing.

"Oh hey, you're Demyx, right?" Axel asked, waving him into their side of the booth. Man, he could just smell the Florida off of him. Demyx wasn't sure whether to be alarmed or comforted. "You're the only one out of our group I haven't met! I'm Axel, got it memorized?"

"Axel's a pretty cool name, my guy," Demyx said as he sat his tray full of food down.

"Thanks, I picked it myself."

Oh, wait, what? Was he… was he trans too? Demyx didn't want to be rude.

"Yeah, Lea was a dumb name. Thought I'd spice it up a bit."

"That's true for everyone at the table," Marluxia said, sitting up straighter.

"None of us accepted the identities we were born with," Larxene said. "We're all villains, fuck our old selves. We've gotta get revenge."

"Re-revenge?" Demyx asked.

Larxene scoffed and leaned forward. "Don't you get it? Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, saw us all as unworthy. Now, we have to get back at him!" She grunted. "It's so unfair!"

Demyx didn't want to admit it, but all he wanted to do was smoke weed and hang out in the apartment complex's pool all day. School was just a reason to get cheap rent. Sure, the control over water and stuff sounded kinda cool, but really, he didn't want to fight. However, everyone was looking at him expectantly. "Uh, sure, I'm in."

"Atta boy!" Axel wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. "One of the cool kids, right here!"

Demyx couldn't help but laugh. "Now, if you don't mind, can I eat my food?"

Axel let go, and for a brief moment, Demyx was disappointed. Something about Axel was just… pleasantly warm. He seemed much better than the others, more kind. Luxord, he supposed, was nice too, but he seemed more interested in playing games with people. Larxene… well, she was a bitch. Hot, but a bitch. And Marluxia, well, Demyx really didn't know how to feel about him.

But this is where he belonged. These were his people.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Oh my god, that was a long chapter. Fun fact, the original idea for this was that Zelda started a group chat where she and her friends could remind each other about tests and homework and stuff, but Peach decided to add everyone she knows, and shit gets wild. I do intend to have chatroom sections because it's a fun way for characters to meet if they don't have classes together.

Speaking of, I have a spreadsheet with everyone's classes mapped out. 57 students so far, many of which I'm not sure if they'll make a direct appearance. I just like having everything mapped out, just in case. There's six full periods in a day, plus lunch, homeroom, and arena time. There also may be clubs, not sure.

The pace will likely pick up after the next few chapters. Characters are still meeting each other, so I want to show that. Speaking of characters, hooboy, time for last name explanations! There were a lot this chapter due to the chatroom.

Last Name Explanations:

Sidon and Mipha Sturgeon (The Legend of Zelda): Come on, they're literally fish. How could I not?

Lucina Lowell (Fire Emblem): Same as Marth, since I made the cousins. Also, the alliteration fits nicely.

Rosalina Thebe (Super Mario Brothers): I don't think it's a real last name, but fuck it. It's a star.

Samus Aran (Metroid): Canon

Tifa Lockheart (Final Fantasy): Canon

Aqua Conway (Kingdom Hearts): I'm pretty sure it's after a river in the UK. Can't find the exact source, but it looks nice, no?

Pit Icarus (Kid Icarus): I got lazy

Roy Eliwood (Fire Emblem): Eliwood is his dad. I got lazy. Too many characters.

Mackenzie Little (Punch Out): … you know I had to. It was too easy. Little Mac isn't just a nickname, it's his actual name.

Demyx Harper (Kingdom Hearts): Harper is a musical last name, he's into music, it fits. I also just like the name.

Ike Gawain (Fire Emblem): It's his dad's former name, it looks like. I haven't actually played the game, okay?

Axel Reese (Kingdom Hearts): I honestly can't find it anymore. Just accept it, K? Probably something with fire, I can't remember.

Oh my Gods, honestly, why did I give everyone last names? (Cause I'm a slut for realism, duh). Anyway, off to write the next chapter, see you soon!

Sorry for the late upload, btw! Was out of town with no wifi!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lunch was a bit too much for Link. Those girls from the beginning of school were there, talking their asses off with Zelda. He supposed that was the way of princesses, something he'd never understand. The only comfort was when the boys came over, distracting the girls so he could breathe. He supposed Samus wasn't too bad, as she gave him sympathetic smiles when the girls would nearly smother him.

Still, he was glad to be done with lunch.

He and Zelda walked into the General Art classroom. It was mostly empty, since they had been among the first to leave. A blonde woman stood at the front, absentmindedly drawing on the chalkboard. Paint seemed to cover every part of her body, including a long pink streak across her face. "Go ahead, sit anywhere you want." She said, voice as if she was in a faraway land.

"Come on, let's sit up front!" Zelda smiled, sitting at one of the six-person tables at the front. Link sat across from her, more excited than he had been for any other class. He was an artist through and through, and he really hoped this class would help. He'd been in some shitty art classes.

After a few moments, Namine and what looked to be her redheaded twin sister (Oh, shit, that was Kairi from English.) came into the classroom. Her eyes lit up when she noticed them, and she pulled her sister to their table. "Hello, Link and Zelda. It's nice to see you again. Mind if Kairi and I sit here?"

"No, go ahead! It's nice to see you again." Zelda smiled. "And we had English together, so we've met."

Namine sat down next to Link, and Kairi hopped down into the seat next to Zelda. "Good to see you guys again!"

Next to join the table was that spacy girl from lunch, Rosalina. She waved to everyone and mumbled her name as she sat next to Namine, but she seemed to be in her own head. Link's eyes rested on her for just a moment. What could possibly be on her mind? Was she like this before, or could it be something she learned?

His eyes were torn from her as the last seat at their table was filled by some mullet dude in a black trenchcoat. Kairi tensed up, while Namine gave her a conflicted look.

Mullet Guy sighed and leaned back. "I know it says I'm a villain, but I'm not. Dunno why I'd join a gang in that universe or anything, but I'm not like that here." He looked over at everyone. "I'm Demyx, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Zelda." Zelda smiled, reaching in front of Kairi to shake his hand.

"If you weren't a villain, why would you sit with the rest of them?" Kairi asked.

Demyx sighed again. "Look, your table had enough people as it was. I just wanted to know, okay?"

"Do you know what Marluxia did to my sister?" Kairi's eyes went wide when she noticed a pink-haired man sitting at the next table over. Still, she shook her head. "I swear, if you do _anything_ to her, I'll kick your ass!"

"Man, I wish I had friends as cool as you." Demyx sighed.

"I- what?"

He piqued an eyebrow. "All the people I belong with are assholes. Me, not so much. Like, come on, it takes so much effort to be mean." He looked over at Kairi. "I wish any of them would stick up for people like you."

Kairi seemed frustrated for a second. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Before anything else could happen, their teacher called their attention. "Welcome, students. My name is Mina, and I'll be teaching your General Arts class. I hope this class is therapeutic for you, as I understand that these… changes might be stressful." She started walking around, passing out papers. "This semester, we will be doing a mix of two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Next semester, you will get to choose one as your focus. Deadlines will be loose, as I don't believe in a rigid structure for a creative class."

The papers got to Link's table, so he grabbed one. It was one of those 'get to know you' things, but instead of writing, you drew. Seemed easy enough. Mina went over the assignment, and Link started drawing. The first prompt was to draw a place that made him happy.

He had to think for a moment, as most of the places he'd been to made him feel lukewarm at best. Eventually, an expansive field full of waist-high grass that ended in a cliff overlooking a variety of other landscapes appeared in his mind, so he drew that. He wasn't sure where, exactly, he was drawing, but it felt like home. He glanced over to Zelda, who appeared to be drawing a library.

Apparently, the twins and Demyx all drew beaches, but different ones and in different styles. While everyone else at the table used the colored pencils provided, Namine had her own set. They looked well taken care of, and had a much better variety than what was on the table. Kairi started talking about the beach she and Namine (along with their sister Xion) used to play on as kids, and Demyx started talking about his own. Zelda mentioned that she'd been to a few.

Link stayed silent. He wasn't particularly interested, as he'd heard they smelled like dead fish.

The next prompt was something abstract. He started sketching something out, like he'd done with his skateboard. He enjoyed just letting his pencil flow and do what it desired.

The last one was something he was scared of.

Fuck, what was he scared of? Not much. Failure? Hard to fail when you have no ambition. Death? He wanted to die anyway. Love? No, that was bullshit.

Aloneness. He was afraid of being alone forever. He loved being alone most of the time, but to have no one to turn to?

He just drew a stick figure surrounded in a black haze. Figure drawing was never his strong suit.

When he was done, he rested his head on the desk. It wasn't the most comfortable, but he'd slept in worst. Comfort was never his main goal, as long as it got the job done. Everyone else talked around him, but he was done for the day. How the hell was he going to survive the next two hours? Thankfully, every time the conversation drifted towards him, Zelda deflected it.

The bell rang after a while, and Link got up and slung his bag over his shoulder. Zelda was going to a different class, her General Sciences, but Link knew where it was, so he was going to walk her to it. Kairi, Namine, and Demyx were heading there two, so they all walked together. Rosalina just seemed to pick a direction and wander, but Link had the feeling she'd end up exactly where she'd need to be.

"So, I heard you talking about me earlier." A deep voice sneered. Everyone turned to see the pink-haired boy, Marluxia, standing over them. "I find it insulting that you'd say such things without knowing the whole story."

Kairi stepped in front of her sister. "You locked her in a cage and forced her to use her powers to hurt people!"

"And she was helping take down the very same organization that kept you and Sora apart for so long. Who cares how I treated the little witch?"

Link wasn't going to let someone bully someone smaller than themselves. He stepped between Marluxia and the others.

"Oh, a hero type, hmm? This isn't your place. Move aside."

No way in hell he was going to move. Instead, his body seemed to act on its own, snapping his left arm to the side and his other into a shield-like stance. Without even realizing it, he was wielding his sword and shield. A surge of power ran through him, like that was exactly where he belonged. He tightened his grip on his weapons.

Marluxia's eyes widened for a moment, but then he returned to his cool demeanor. "Suit yourself." He then proceeded to make his way down the hall like nothing had happened.

"Link Everard!" Fuck, it was Mrs. Shephard. His weapons dematerialized instantly. "Come see me right now."

It was then that he realized that everyone was staring at them.

"I'll take them to class, don't worry," Zelda said. He noticed that Demyx was long gone, probably running at the first sign of conflict.

Link nodded, then ducked into Mrs. Shepard's room. There were a few people, but Mrs. Shepard took him to the corner so they could speak privately.

"I assume you know why you're here?" She asked.

Link nodded. Drawing his weapons wasn't allowed, even if he hadn't meant to do it. He didn't try and defend himself though.

"Normally, you'd be punished, but given the circumstances I witnessed, I'll let you off with a warning. While I don't condone violence, I understand that it can be effective if other things may not work." She stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up at him. "And you're the first person to successfully call their weapon."

That was a surprise. He wasn't even trying.

"A few people in my homeroom attempted, but no one was successful." She gave him a proud smile. "Anyway, I'll have to write you up, but I'll tell them to clear it. I just have to report it in case another teacher saw. Understood?"

Link nodded.

"You're not one for words, are you? I understand. In fact, two of my children are the same." She sighed. "I'll write you a pass so you won't be late to class."

And so, thankful that he wouldn't be punished, Link went to his next class. Only two left, then he could get his hands on his sword again.

0-0-0-0-0

"Oh my God, did you see that?!" Daisy asked, frantically tugging at Peach's dress. "That boy is such a hero!"

Peach couldn't help but stare in awe. Link really, really was a hero. Saving those girls from an asshole, even summoning a sword like that… wow. It was a shame he got in trouble for it.

The two walked into Mrs. Shephard's room, and Peach froze. There he was, Mario Mario himself. She'd almost been avoiding him for reasons that were too vain to admit. Compared to men like Marth or Link, Mario was… he wasn't hot. He was round and cartoony and weird. She hoped he didn't notice them as they sat down at another group of desks with a reindeer girl and someone of an indiscernible gender.

"Hey, guys, I'm Peach! Nice to meet you.".

"And I'm Daisy!"

The reindeer girl smiled a bit. "I'm Noelle, good to meet you both."

The genderless person held up a sign saying "Frisk. They/them pronouns, mute.".

"Thank you for telling me." Peach smiled.

Class started soon after, and Mrs. Shephard did her opening speech about how she wants everyone to be good. It was sweet, a good sentiment. She also found out that Frisk, along with the other two genderless kids Chara and Kris, were her kids. Frisk smiled when Mrs. Shephard pointed it out.

And then it was time for People Bingo. Usually, Peach would be excited, but there was a portly plumber of an elephant in the room. She supposed they'd keep it brief if they did have to talk.

She also noticed the pink-haired guy who Link stood up to. Man, even though he was hot, she got major creep vibes from him. Yuck.

She started going around, chatting people up and filling in her spot (Go Karting was a unique sport, right?) on everyone's papers. Luckily, at least the creep and his girlfriend with antenna hair were equally fine with as brief conversation as possible.

And then there was Mario.

"Oh, um, hello." Peach smiled, trying her best to not be a valid bitch like everyone thought she was.

"Hello, Peach! It's-a me, Mario!" He smiled. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. Do you still need the unusual sport box filled in?"

Mario looked slightly disappointed, but said nothing of it. "I do! Let me see your paper so I can-a fill out a box." God, his accent sounded so fake. They took each other's papers and signed them. "Well, I guess we should move on, eh?"

Peach smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

It felt like she'd rejected him before he'd even asked. She actually felt kind of… bad. After all, they were close in their other life. But that was then, this was now. She didn't have to maintain any of her ties.

After she was done with the People Bingo, she got on her tablet and back into the chatroom.

[Console] Welcome Peach T to the chat!

Axel R welcome back Fvck God

Malon F ?

Daisy S inside joke

Stahl B if you scroll up enough you can still see it

Paya S but yeah, did you guys see what that guy Link did? He's such a hero!

Peach T oh my god he is

Namine M It was kind of him to stand up for me and my sister.

Demyx H cute too

[Console] Welcome Larxene R to the chat!

Peach T like honestly I would kill for that.

[Console] Welcome Marluxia S to the chat!

Marluxia S Don't gossip about things you have no context for.

[Console] Say goodbye to Marluxia S!

[Console] Say goodbye to Larxene R!

Daisy S bruh

Axel R yet the asshole leaves without providing context

Peach T he's the guy who was bullying those girls, right?

Paya S pink hair?

Axel R ye he's a dick

Demyx H yeye

Malon F What was it about, anyway?

Axel R dunno

Stahl B We should probably drop it, maybe there was more going on.

Peach T who cares, he was being a bully

[Console] Welcome Ventus A to the chat!

Malon F i mean, it says Link's a hero, at least in my tablet, so…

Daisy S doesn't mean he's not a dick? He doesn't seem like it tho

Peach T v quiet

Stahl B wait, Malon, you're in my class lol

Malon F :D

Peach T cuuute

[Console] Welcome Roy E to the chat!

Daisy S welcoe back cherry cock

Roy E fvck you

Malon F ?

Axel R scroll allllllllll the way up

Malon F k

Roy E that's my name for the rest of the year, isn't it

[Console] Welcome Tifa L to the chat!

Tifa L hello

Stahl B Hi!

Daisy S sup

[Console] Say goodbye to Namine M!

Paya S tbh a lot of people seem realy nice here

Stahl B I always try to be welcoming

Malon F soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo uh cherry cock?

Roy E oof i know

Malon F I'm so sorry…

Daisy S f

Axel R f

Demyx H f

Ventus A F

Malon F Why is everyone typing f?

Paya S like i wish i had the courage to talk to people in class and stuff…

Stahl B Hey, if you want, I can come find you between classes! What are you in right now?

Daisy S it's a meme

Paya S General Sciences with Dr. Alphys, and then English with my grandma Ms. Shiekah

Stahl B I'll come find you if that's cool! I think that's also my next class :)

Paya S :)

Peach T it's from a thing "press F to pay respects"

Malon F oh…

Axel R do you even internet

Malon F No, i grew up on a ranch

Axel R oof

Peach T don't be mean to her

Axel R okay Fvck God

Peach T you know it ;)

Demyx H i ship it

Axel R boi

Roy E i mean i ship her with me lol

Axel R BOI

[Console] Welcome Marth L to the chat!

Marth L Fvck God and Cherry Cock, huh. Perfect combo

Roy E …

Daisy S u right

Ventus A I barely know any of you, but u right indeed

Marth L see?

It was in that moment Peach realized she fucked up. Now the object of her affection was shipping her with someone else? At least Roy was cute too, if a little young. She frowned a bit, hoping he was joking.

She decided to get on Instagram and scroll through, taking her mind off things. She hadn't fucked up that bad, yet. She'd be fine.

0-0-0-0-0

Stahl Bauer tried to pride himself on being kind. He was never the smartest, or most athletic, or most talented in any group, but that didn't matter to him, not really. He was perfectly fine with being average but nice.

He supposed Boy Scouts helped with that attitude. While he was never the best, especially in sales (hell, he always bought a lot of his own popcorn to eat it, so his sales were even worse than they looked), his troop leader always told him he had a certain dedication that a lot of the boys didn't have. She also insisted that he was a good Christain boy, even though he certainly was not. While he wasn't sure what was out there, he chose to believe in the Greek gods. They were flawed, and Stahl could learn from their mistakes.

One of the lessons he tried to live by was to always be friends with strangers. Being cold and spiteful never worked out, and he could never imagine being such a bitter person. Besides, he knew what lonely was. Growing up on a farm in some middle-of-nowhere town in southern Indiana had its drawbacks. By high school, at least, he had a group of friends who he was sad to leave behind.

He was no longer average, at least in this world.

He'd just gotten out of his History class with Mr. Lowell. The teacher himself was interesting, but going over American history _again_ was rather dull. The curriculum here wasn't particularly advanced. Not that he minded, of course. College wasn't really in his plans, and saving the world was much more important than school.

The thought almost made him giddy. Stahl Bauer, a hero.

Anyway, he was on a mission. He'd promised this girl Paya he'd hang out with her and go to their next class together, and to hell if he was going to break that. She seemed sweet, and he felt bad that she was having a hard time finding anyone.

He could see her from a while away, her white hair pulled into a bun that he could only describe as resembling a burrito with chopsticks in it. It wasn't a bad thing, not at all. It was kind of cute, honestly. Wait, was she in his homeroom? She may have been.

"Hello, Paya, nice to meet you." He said as he approached. He held out his hand, and she jumped a bit when she noticed him. She quickly shook his hand though.

"Oh my gosh, thank you for meeting me!" She grinned. "I always feel weird going up to people and saying hi, so it's nice to have someone do that for me, you understand?"

Stahl grinned. "Completely! You need to stop by your locker before English?"

Paya shook her head. "No, I think I have everything. You?"

"I'm probably forgetting something, but I can't think of what, so I think we'll be alright."

She smiled as they started heading to class. "Hopefully you don't remember in the middle of class when you need it."

Stahl chuckled a little. "Probably not. Anyway, you mentioned that Ms. Sheikah is your grandmother?"

"Oh, yes! She's really smart, so I think she'll be a good teacher." Paya smiled. "She used to teach martial arts, and everyone liked her, so I think she'll be good at English, too."

Stahl smiled. "That's good. All the teachers here seem pretty good, if a bit disorganized."

"I suppose they would be, considering this school isn't, well, mainly for school." Paya sighed a bit.

The two walked into the classroom, and Paya took one of the seats in the front row. Stahl sat next to her, not minding sitting up front. He preferred to sit in the middle, blending in with the crowd, but things were different here. Besides, he had a friend to keep company.

The old woman, presumably Ms. Sheikah, seemed impossibly old. She sat on top of the desk, seemingly meditating. At most schools, that would be completely unprofessional, but this school was all kinds of weird.

Another girl slid into the seat next to him with a smile. "Hello, I'm Yuna! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Stahl, and this is my friend Paya. Good to meet you!"

"This school is so weird, you know?" Yuna said, getting her tablet out of her bookbag. "It's so different than what I'm used to."

The three of them chatted for a couple minutes before Ms. Sheikah got the class's attention. Honestly, Stahl couldn't tell anyone the specifics of what she said, just generally about rules and about the classic books they'd be reading. The only one he remembered offhand was that they'd be reading Dracula around October because spooky month. Probably not her words.

After she was done with her speech, she passed around a 'get to know you' style sheet. It was general stuff like names, pronouns, hobbies, all of that. He'd done a fair amount of them already, so he had his answers memorized. The three of them talked a bit about their answers. He learned that both Paya and Yuna lived in Japan at various points in their lives. Stahl was jealous, since he'd never left the country. He wanted to go to Germany someday, given his ancestry, but he hadn't been able to go yet.

Towards the end of class, his stomach growled. Loudly. Hell. "Hey, uh, Paya, I think I remember what I forgot."

"Oh?"

"My snack."

She burst out laughing, and everything was going to be okay.

0-0-0-0-0

When Malon Farmer read about her past, all she could do was laugh. She was the exact same person in both lives, just a girl who raised horses alongside her father Talon. She wasn't even a fighter, just some horse girl waiting for a knight in shining armor to whisk her away.

How pathetic.

Whenever she learned what this school was for, when memories started to quietly creep in, she thought that she might actually be worth something. She read through her backstory, hoping to find something, but it turned out all she did was raise horses so that Link could save the world.

No abilities.

It said she was a Peripheral, someone without an innate battling capability but was brought here alongside everyone else. Many of them lived in the town, some aware and some not. No one's parents were aware, minus those who were directly involved in the school, it seemed. Not yet.

Whenever it was time to go to the Arena to start training for battle, Malon had no idea what was in store for her. She sat in the stands next to this boy, Roy, who she'd met in a couple of her classes before. He was nice, if a bit goofy. He was chatting with a few other boys, and Malon… well, she wasn't a swordsman, so she couldn't relate. He tried to include her, but it never quite worked.

After a couple minutes, the teachers began to call up students by their abilities. The Swordsmen went with Mr. Lowell, Magic Users with Palutena, etc. Once everyone was divided up, it was just the Peripherals. Isabelle, the small dog, called them all to sit in the bleachers together so she could talk to them.

"Hello, students!" She smiled. "We've decided that, instead of teaching you to battle, we should instead let you have some free time. You can stay here and watch, or you can explore the school. The library, computer lab, the art studio, the track, and the basketball court are all open, plus, if you all decide you want to do something, we can go out on field trips, too!" She clapped her little paws together with a smile, and Malon couldn't help but grin. She was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen. Excluding her horses, of course.

Well, damn. What was there to do? Malon would typically use a study hall to, well, study, but there wasn't much for her to do. None of her classes had assigned any homework yet. The closest thing was her Basic Math with Dr. Mewtwo, but she got that done in class with Roy. She supposed she could go to the library and see if they had any good books.

"Hey, do you want to come walk around with us?"

Malon looked up and saw a girl in an orange tank top and brown hair standing in front of her. Behind her were two dudes, one lean and blonde, the other portly and black-haired.

"Yeah, we saw you sitting alone, so we figured you might need a friend." The taller one grinned. "I'm Hayner, by the way."

"And I'm Pence!" The other boy also smiled.

"I'm Olette! So, you wanna come with us?"

Malon thought for a moment, but they seemed nice, so she stood up. "Sure! I'm Malon."

"Nice to meet you!" Olette smiled and started to head out of the arena.

"You know, I don't think there's anything keeping us in school. We could probably ditch if we wanted to." Hayner said, resting his hand behind his head as they walked.

"Come on, it's the first day! Don't you want to find any weird mysteries around here?" Pence said. "Like, you know there's some cool stuff hidden around here."

"Besides, skipping is a terrible idea." Malon smiled weakly.

"I'm with Malon and Pence. I don't want to be guaranteed to get in trouble so early on." Olette sighed. "Wanna start outside? It's kinda hot, but it's not as bad as it could be."

Everyone agreed, so they found a door and walked out. Immediately, they were greeted by the large track surrounding a multipurpose sports field. Did the school even have sports, given the… advantages people had? Maybe it was just for people in the school to play against each other. No, she'd heard a couple of girls talking about the tennis team.

"Damn, I can't wait to run out here!" Hayner grinned.

"I still can't believe you like running." Pence shook his head as the group started to walk towards the tennis courts and basketball courts. "Like, come on, it just makes you sweaty and gross."

"I like sweaty and gross."

The group passed the basketball court, where a couple people were shooting hoops. Hayner said something to Pence, which made him laugh and elbow the taller boy and return. In that moment, Malon realized that everyone else had known each other for a very long time, and she was all alone.

"Hey, Malon, where are you from?" Olette asked. Malon hadn't even realized she was right there.

"Oh, uh, a little town in Texas. Was pretty similar to this, but, well, everyone was human." Malon smiled a little. "Even had a ranch there too."

"A ranch? That sounds nice."

"Yeah. We mostly take care of horses, but we have a few cows too." A laugh bubbled up in her throat, and there was no way to contain it. "Fuckin' hell, I'm exactly the same person in this world than in a world with fairies and heroes and magic." How stupid was that? She was just a fucking rancher, dreaming of some knight to take her away.

She was fucking pathetic.

She hadn't even realized she'd collapsed to the ground, tears in her eyes.

Everyone around her had stopped.

"You know," Hayner said. "We all feel the same."

"Yeah, magic, cool swords, our world has it all. And we're just townies that the big hero meets, like, three times." Olette said, kneeling down next to her.

"We were only mildly useful at best." Pence scoffed.

"So yay, we're sidekicks." Olette sighed. "But you know what? It's not that bad."

Malon wiped her eyes. "Still, of all the things I could be, I'm just… plain."

"Doesn't mean we can't have fun, though," Hayner said. "I think there's a pool up there, we could skinny dip."

She choked on her tears, more surprised at how casual that statement was than anything else. "What?"

"Hayner, please tell me you were _joking._" Olette sighed.

"Heh, mostly."

Malon couldn't help but laugh again. "You know we'd get in trouble, right?"

"Is there a rule against it?"

"Hayner, you do realize that public nudity is generally a crime, right?"

"Pssh, so is public sword wielding, but it's allowed here."

"Tell you what, we'll all bring swimsuits next time, okay?" Olette said. "How about you, Malon? You wanna swim with us tomorrow?"

Malon smiled a bit. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Hell, even if she didn't belong, she was going to make the best of it. She wasn't going to wait for some knight to make it all better. She'd do it herself.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Well that took a while. Sorry. Been a busy couple of months. I could use some reviews, honestly.

Last name explanations:

Mario Mario (Super Mario Bros): Canon

Paya Shiekah (The Legend of Zelda): She's a Shiekah and I'm getting lazy.

Malon Farmer (The Legend of Zelda): Too on the nose. I don't care.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"I think I want to bake a cake." Peach said, sitting up from lounging on the couch.

"What's up, you stressed?" Daisy asked, looking up from her phone.

Peach nodded. "Who wouldn't be? I think the weirdness of everything is finally settling in." She got up and went to the kitchen, Daisy following after a moment. The kitchen staff, a sweet married couple of French chefs named Jaques and Annette, waved when they went in.

"Hello, Miss Peach and Miss Daisy, are you coming in to request anything before dinner?" Annette grinned. "We were preparing a beef stew, but if you would like something different, we can just have the stew to ourselves."

"Actually, we were just coming in to bake a cake." Peach said, going to the small shelf of cookbooks and grabbing her personalized one. It was a collection of her favorite cake recipes, some sticking to the original and some deviating to her tastes.

"Oh, are you having friends over?" Jaques asked.

Daisy and Peach looked at each other and shrugged. "That's actually a pretty good idea," Daisy said, and Peach agreed. "Who do you want to invite? Let's see, there's Rosalina, Zelda, Marth, Mario, Luigi…"

Peach frowned for a second. She didn't _not_ want to invite Mario and Luigi, but at the same time, she wasn't sure. "Maybe we just put it out on the chatroom and see who bites? It would be a nice way to meet people, yeah? Plus, we could message people who we really want to come."

Daisy grinned. "Alright!"

"Well, if you're going to have quite a few people, we can help you make the cakes," Jaques offered.

"Oh, and we can make some finger sandwiches too!" Annette grinned. "I always love making them, the small bread is so cute!"

"Yeah, that sounds amazing!" Daisy laughed a little.

"Alright! I'll let everyone know." Peach got on her tablet and signed onto the chatroom. A few people were talking about their teachers, but nothing major was going down. After a few minutes of thinking, she typed her message.

Peach T Hey! I know this is a bit short notice, but I'm having a cake party! Light snacks will be provided alongside some super good cake. The cakes will be ready around 6:00, but feel free to stop by a bit early. Message me for the address, plus let me know if you have any requests or allergies!

Axel R shit man free cake i'm down

Stahl B Aww, that's really nice! Messaging you in just a second!  
Zelda H Heck yeah I'll come!

Zelda was the first to PM her. [Hey! What's your address?]

Peach smiled. [17 Holly Court, up in Royal Estates in the northern part of town. There is a guard at the gate when you drive up, but just show him your school ID or your tablet and he'll let you in.] She copied the message, figuring she'd need to send it again.

[No way. I live in 13 Holly Court! I think we're next-door neighbors!]

Peach couldn't help but grin. Sweet, Zelda seemed really cool. [Alright. No allergies or anything?]

[Nope! I'll probably be by around 5:30, see you then!]

Axel and Stahl both messaged her too, both saying they may bring a friend. Peach gave them the info and then started to look through and see what kind of cakes she wanted to make. After talking it out with Daisy, Jaques, and Annette, they decided on a white cake with chocolate icing on one half and vanilla on the other, a gluten-free chocolate cake just in case someone couldn't have the normal cake, and her signature Peach cake, made with fresh peaches.

She asked the night cleaning staff to get the main living area ready for a party. It didn't need too much work, mostly just a few candles to make the room smell nice.

By the time Peach had almost finished the cakes, quite a few people were coming. Of course, there was Zelda, Axel and his friend Demyx, Stahl and his friend Paya, and Rosalina, but there was a growing list: Aqua, Terra, Sora, Kairi, Xion, Namine, Yuna, Rikku, Malon, Roy, Ike, Corrin, Aerith, Noelle, Haley, Alex, Pit, Midna, Sidon, and Mipha.

Sadly, no Marth. She'd messaged him personally, but he hadn't even seen it. He was probably busy. Nothing to worry about, right? Right?

The doorbell rang through the house, right at 5:30. "I'll get it!" Peach yelled, trusting that her cakes were safe. Besides, they wouldn't be ready to be frosted for a couple more minutes. She walked to the large front door and opened it. As expected, Zelda was there. "Hey, welcome to my place!" She went in for a hug, and thankfully Zelda accepted.

"It's so nice!" Zelda said as she came in. "Is this a shoes on or shoes off house?"

"Whichever you want, though I usually go shoes off. You wanna help frost the cakes?"

Zelda took off her sandals and smiled. "Sure!"

When they got to the kitchen, they gossiped a bit as they frosted the cakes. Zelda had a nice eye for detail, which Peach could hella appreciate. Just as they were ready, the doorbell rang again. This time, it was Stahl and a white-haired girl, probably Paya. She greeted them, and they end up helping out by setting drinks out on one of the tables in the living room.

Soon, more and more people were arriving, and Peach was excited. The cakes all went over well with everyone, and they were all having a good time. She was glad that such an impromptu party was successful. As she talked with people, she learned how much people appreciated having a place to go and be normal people, not whatever weird species they were.

There was one problem. Marth wasn't there. He hadn't even responded to her message yet.

The doorbell rang. Was it him? She got up from her seat on the couch with Zelda, Mipha, and Sidon. It could have been him. When she opened the door, though, she was… disappointed.

"Hey, it's the Fvck God!" Axel laughed, slinging his arm around the blonde… (wait, were they a boy or a girl? Shit.) next to him.

"Welcome, come on in!" Peach immediately smiled. Sure, they weren't Marth, but at least they were fun.

"We probably won't be here long. Me and this boy Demyx here-" Oh, good, they were a boy. Good to know. "-are gonna get drunk with a couple friends later, and we figured cake is a great warm-up." The two walked in, black boots loud against the hardwood floors. Upon noticing the (mostly) organized pile of shoes off to the side, they kicked them off.

"Damn, this place is nice," Demyx said, looking around.

"Well, thank you!" Peach laughed. "I can't take much credit, since my mom was in charge of the interior design."

"Oh, by the way, if after this, you wanna come drinking with us, you can," Axel said as they all walked into the kitchen. Thank God Annette and Jaques were already gone.

Peach froze for a second. Sure, the offer was nice, but… "Dude, it's a Wednesday night. I don't drink on school nights." She especially didn't want to have a hangover on her second day. She did laugh a little though. "I appreciate the offer, so hit me up on the weekend, maybe?"

"Tis a shame, we could always use more pretty ladies." Axel laughed.

"Yeah, considering that the only girl there is Larxene, and her and Marluxia are all…" He made kissing motions with his hands, and Peach's face fell.

"Marluxia? The big pink hair dude who was bullying that girl?" She sighed. "Yeah, I'd rather not hang out with him. He sounds like an asshole."

"Yeah, well, he's our asshole, apparently." Axel rolled his eyes. "He's not that bad if he thinks you're worthy."

Peach pursed her lips. "Yeah, I don't think I'd want to get drunk with him."

"Fair enough. I'll let you know if we end up hanging out without him." Axel leaned forward on the counter and gave her a look. "It would be nice to have some time alone with you, you know?"

Peach bit her lip a bit in her smile. "What, you, me, and Demyx, or were you just talking you and me?"

"Depends on how adventurous you are." God, that smirk could melt hearts.

"Oh my fucking God, this cake is so good!" The moment was ruined by Demyx shouting, apparently really loving the peach cake. "Like, seriously, what's the secret?"

Peach laughed. "Wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you, now would it?" She stood up straighter. "I'm gonna go be a good host and talk to everyone, but it's nice seeing you. Have fun!"

"Will do."

She left the kitchen and looked around. Still no Marth. Eventually, she noticed Ike, Roy, and a girl (Marin? Malin? Something like that.) all talking on one of the sleek white couches. They were his friends, right? Maybe they'd know. She walked up to them. "Hey, mind if I join you guys?"

"Sure! I was just telling Malon about this time I won against the best player on our rival school's fencing team!" Roy grinned. He scooted over, closer to Malon, so that she could sit between him and Ike. Peach sat down and listened (though, not as intently as Malon, who seemed to hang onto every word), and after a bit, Marth's name came up.

"Oh, Marth! Hey, do you think he's gonna come? I haven't heard from him."

"Nah," Ike said, drinking from his can of Cherry Lime La Croix before continuing. "His family went out to celebrate their first day at school."

Peach was relieved. Yeah, she was bummed he wasn't coming, but she was glad it wasn't necessarily because he didn't want to. "I see. He seems really nice."

Ike smiled, just a bit. "Yeah, I like him. We didn't really talk back in Seattle, but he seemed pretty cool."

"It's nice having someone you know here." Peach sighed. "It must be hard for the ones who didn't know anybody before… everything."

"You know, you're helping those people with stuff like this." Ike took another sip. "Helping people feel welcome."

She was glad people understood what this party was for. "I'm trying, yeah."

"It's working."

Peach turned towards him more and smiled. You know, he was really cute too. Like, really cute.

Maybe it wasn't so bad that Marth couldn't make it.

0-0-0-0-0

The moment Link flopped down on his bed, he was out. Zelda had offered him a ride home, but he figured the skateboarding trip home would be nice, right? No, no, it was way hotter than he was used to, and he was drenched in sweat when he arrived home. It took him all his effort to wait until he was in his bathroom to strip down. After he got in the shower, he realized he didn't have to worry about wearing clothes in his apartment, assuming he kept his blinds closed. So, as soon as he dried off, he flopped down on his bed.

He had always been a light sleeper. His life had always required it.

So, when the noises started from above him, he woke up an instant.

Fuck.

It sounded like whoever was living above him was having a party. Loud music, lots of footsteps. There was no way he was going to sleep through it. He tried playing on his phone for a bit, but no dice. Only a couple people were on the school's chatroom, and honestly, he didn't want to join. Zelda had invited him to something earlier, presumably while he slept, but that was a few hours ago and he didn't want to go out.

He tried hitting the ceiling with a broom. Nope, no response.

He needed to sleep. He was going to have to confront them, wasn't he?

Fuck it. He put on some pants and went out the door into the hot summer air. He knocked on the door of the apartment above him, and…

Double fuck. It was that Marluxia dude. "Can I help you?"

"You're being loud. I can hear you."

Marluxia gave him a sneer. "Good to know."

"I can't sleep."

Before Marluxia could respond, some guy with bright red hair came to the door to join him. "Hey, who's this and where are his nipples?"

Link crossed his arms over his chest, insecure about his birth defect. God, these people were rude. Though, he was the one who'd gone up without a shirt.

"He was just leaving. Unless you wanted to join us, of course?"

Link knew he wasn't invited, so he just left. This was going to be hell, wasn't it? He sighed when he walked back into his apartment. Somehow, he managed to sleep through it, albeit in small chunks. In the times where he could sleep, dreams of faraway lands filled his head. Were these his imagination or memories?

And before he knew it, it was time to get to school. He made himself a peanut butter sandwich and scarfed it down before getting dressed. He supposed it didn't really matter what he wore since it would all change when he got to school, so he put on his cargo shorts and blue shirt. His skateboard glided smoothly down the roads as he went, following the same path as yesterday. Maybe sometime he'd explore the city, but for now, he just had to get back to school.

When he arrived at Homeroom, Zelda was waiting for him at her seat. And something was very different.

"Your hair." Link said as he sat down.

"Oh, you like it? I figured since we're going to be fighting and stuff, it would be smarter to have it shorter, yeah?" Zelda grinned, running her hand through it. Instead of going to her mid-back, it hit her jawline and framed her face perfectly. "Plus, it looks good, don't you think?"

Link nearly choked, only able to force a nod. He wasn't going to scare her off by telling her how fucking adorable it was.

She smiled back at him. "Speaking of battling, I can tell you about the stuff I learned, if that's alright."

Link nodded again, and she started talking about the spells she could do. The main one she was focusing on was Din's Fire, which lead her to tell him about this girl Lulu and her fire spell, and then it led to talking about the other people in her group. Honestly, Link didn't mind watching her ramble, seeing her adorable facial expressions and wild hand movements was well enough. She'd occasionally glance over to him to make sure he was listening (And hey, he was, even though he wouldn't remember most of these people) and then continue.

It sounded like she'd met some really cool people. He was happy for her.

Just so long as all of them didn't mob him at lunch, of course.

0-0-0-0-0

Aqua Conway was so happy to know her purpose. She'd always been a wild child growing up, and even though she'd calmed down before her senior year, she'd never known her place. She was aimless, wandering around in a field of darkness.

A fitting comparison, given her backstory.

Now, she was a protector. She was here to save the world.

Unfortunately, her companions were so dumb. She would never say it out loud, but… man. Neither of them was very smart.

Ventus Arra wasn't that bad, really. Sure, he didn't seem particularly intelligent, nor did he make great decisions, but at least he could function. They sat next to each other in Mr. Lowell's history class, and he didn't seem to pay attention, instead getting distracted by every bird that flew by the window. His twin brother Roxas must have gotten most of the brain cells, she thought.

The other one, Terra Buckley… oh god, how did he exist? He was naive and air-headed and… geez. They were in a group in Lady Palutena's general science class, along with Ike Gawain, this tall blue-haired kid with a prominent hickey on his neck, and Alex Mulner, another brainless jock who Terra talked football with constantly.

She felt bad, honestly. They were both nice, sure, but she didn't want to feel like she was babysitting constantly.

When it was time for Advanced Math, she was relieved. She hadn't always loved school, but math was always her strong suit. Plus, the girls who sat at her table were really cool.

Especially Samus. Aqua had always had a thing for her fellow tall girls, and Samus was insanely tall. Over six feet for sure.

"Hey, Aqua!" Zelda grinned whenever Aqua walked to their table. Zelda was cool too, peppy without being an airhead.

"Hey, Zel, How's it going?"

"It's going alright. How did your battle class go yesterday? I saw you over there with the swordsmen."

Aqua leaned forward a bit, resting her arms on her desk. "It went super well! I'm actually really good at it. We did a couple of practice moves on each other, and I kicked my friend Terra's ass at it."

"That's super cool! Noelle and I are both Magicians, so we learned some cool stuff." Zelda looked over at Noelle, who smiled a bit before going back to the book she was reading.

"Apparently I know some magic too, so I might end up training with you guys some." Aqua smiled.

"Oh, that would be neat!" She exclaimed before hearing the classroom door open again. Upon noticing who it was, she said: "Hey, Samus!"

Oh shit, it was her. A good kind of 'oh shit', though. She hoped Samus wouldn't notice her slight blush.

Evidently not, because Samus just gave everyone a curt nod. Before much conversation could happen, Mr. Mewtwo called attention to the class. The class went smoothly, with more of a review of concepts they already knew than anything. It was nice to have the reminders. When it was time to work on their assignment, they talked more about their battle stuff. However, she noticed Samus seemed tense. She had yesterday, too, but figured it was just because of all the new changes. Aqua didn't want to pry, but she wanted to pry, you know?

After their table was done with their work, they turned it in, and yet again, Mr. Mewtwo let them go early. Zelda and Noelle talked about magic some more, leaving Samus and Aqua to talk.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Like, really?"

Samus sighed. "At least I'm training to get revenge."

Oh. Aqua didn't pry any further, but could put together that someone in her other life had been killed. Reading your backstory wasn't just like reading a book, it was more like a memory. You felt it, and she was sure that something really bad had happened to Samus.

Aqua's wasn't happy either.

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm here." She gave a half smile.

"You're the Mom friend in your friend groups, aren't you?" Samus asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I guess so." Aqua laughed a little.

"I thought so. Look, I don't need a mom." She seemed to choke a bit. "I don't need someone worrying constantly. I can handle myself."

"Oh…"

Samus stopped. "Sorry, that sounded rude. I'm trying to say I want a friend, not a mom. I appreciate the concern, but please, don't feel the need to constantly make sure I'm okay."

Aqua sighed. "Sorry."

"It's sweet, but it's not what I need." Samus sighed. "Thanks for understanding."

Aqua sighed too. "It's no problem."

Damn. Samus was a hard nut to crack.

0-0-0-0-0

When Ike Gawain woke up that morning, he knew he fucked up. He stumbled into the bathroom, and yep, there it was. A hickey. While it wasn't the worst, it was still clearly visible.

His little sister Mist refused to help him cover it, instead finding it hilarious that he'd already gotten a hickey after school going for only a day. Thank God she hadn't come to the party, otherwise it would have been a nightmare.

She was sweet, but… man, she was overbearing. He was secretly glad they didn't share any classes, and that thankfully, she'd found other friends at lunch.

Everyone noticed, because of course they did. How could you not? It was right there, for all to see. Ike had made out with someone. Someone he barely knew, at that.

Peach Toadstool. He'd made out with Peach Toadstool.

He wasn't normally like this. He'd normally get to know someone first, but somehow, after having a single one on one conversation, Ike knew her well enough to end up in her bedroom, making out and listening to Halsey. Thank God he didn't have a curfew.

It didn't go any further than making. Peach had offered, if he wanted to, of course, but he didn't want to go any further. Thank God she didn't push it, because with the way she looked, he may have said yes.

She wasn't easy. That made it sound bad. No, she was effortless. Talking to her made it seem like he was exactly where he needed to be. Kissing her felt like everything was right in the world.

He passed her in the hall between classes, and she gave him a sweet, knowing smile. Upon noticing the hickey she'd left, her face flushed. Man, she was adorable.

At his locker, Roy asked who'd done it. Ike wasn't going to tell. He wanted to keep her all to himself, even though he knew next to nothing about her. It wasn't like she was secretive, he just hadn't bothered to ask much.

This wasn't like him. He was better than this.

At lunch, Peach seemed to pay him only a slight bit of extra attention. Daisy smirked at him, obviously knowing what happened but keeping it to herself. Zelda ignored it, while Link didn't even seem to notice. Roy, Marth, and Lucina seemed eager to know, but didn't bring it up at the lunch table. Samus glared daggers right at the damn thing. Was she into him or something? Honestly, he thought she was gay at first. He still wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't.

It wasn't until Aerobics class that Marth finally brought it up.

"How about we play a game?" Marth asked as they did their stretches.

"What kind?"

"I ask you questions, you can only answer yes or no. Sound fun?"

It sounded like a trap, and Ike wondered why he didn't just ask directly. "Sure."

"So, the hickey. Guy or girl?"

Ike just looked at him for a moment. "Yes?"

"Sorry. Was it a guy?"

"No!" He was a bit loud in saying that, so he quieted down when he followed up with. "Uh, I'm straight."

"So a girl then. Do I know her?"

"Yes."

Marth thought for a second. "Was it Lucina?"

"No? I thought she was out with your family for dinner." Ike said, moving on to his next stretch.

"Good. Cause if it was, I'd have to kill you." Marth chuckled a little. "You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"Do I know her?"

"Yeah."

"Does she sit with us at lunch?"

Fuck. "Yeah."

"Is it Peach?"

Ike stayed silent for a moment, but he knew he'd have to answer. "Yes."

Marth sighed. "Are you two, like, together?"

"Can we stop playing the damn game so I can talk like a normal person?"

He laughed a tiny bit. "Sure."

"No, we aren't. She doesn't seem like that kind of girl. Dating, I mean."

Marth looked down to the ground. "Oh."

Oh, shit, Marth had a crush on her. Probably a small one. Ike didn't blame him. She had the cutest little lips that he could watch (and taste) all night.

"She asked about you though. Before, uh, things happened." Ike cleared his throat. "Asked if you were coming to the party."

Marth finished up the last stretch and stood up. "I wish I could have. Maybe I could have been the one she kissed."

"I'm sure if you asked nicely." Ike chuckled a bit as he got up. He had no doubt that that would work, with what he knew about the girl in question. "Don't give up hope."

"One last question?"

"Sure."

"Was she a good kisser?"

"Yes."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Holy shit, I wrote most of this in the middle of the night. I ended up switching Link and Peach's slots in the order for this, since hers happened first. I'll likely end up changing the order again next time, because, well, Link isn't super involved in the current plot thread. Admittedly, Peach is getting a bit more attention because she's a bit more… dramatic? She causes more drama, even though it's not direct.

Link and Peach both have aspects of me in this. Link is my more wallflower side, just observing the world, while Peach is my more, well, promiscuous side. Half the things Ike thinks about her are things my hurricane of a friend has said about me. Zelda kind of has a bit of me too, with the talkativeness. I suppose, in a way, Link is like the hurricane, listening and waiting for me to be done before kissing me at the next red light we hit.

I suppose the hurricane is having more of an impact on my writing than I thought.

Last Name Explanations:

Terra Buckley (Kingdom Hearts): Says it means wood. Idk, it sounds… jockish.

Ventus Arra (Kingdom Hearts): I literally cannot find what it means. I came up with it a long time ago. Oh god, did I just rip off air and make it sound pretty?

Alex Mulner (Stardew Valley): Canon. And yes, I'm including Stardew Valley. It's a good game. I wanna marry Shane or Sebastian in my main playthrough.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I think Marth is avoiding me." Peach said as she and Daisy walked into their English class.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we passed each other in the hall, and he didn't wave or anything. Just kept going." Peach sighed as she sat down.

Daisy frowned. "You think he knows about you and Ike?"

In an instant, a girl with light brown hair seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Wait, _you're_ the girl Ike got the hickey from?"

Peach sat blankly for a moment. "Uh, yeah?"

"Sorry, I'm his sister Mist, and he refused to spill the tea." She laughed. "And I normally don't like fighting, but if you hurt him, I'll murder you."

"Uh, okay?"

Then, Mist was gone, back at her table alongside Mario. Oh, hell, like it couldn't get any awkwarder. Peach turned back to her tablet and sighed.

She hadn't really meant to bring Ike up to her room last night. Well, the better word was intended. But he was nice, and she just brought out the horniness in people. She didn't even have to try, really. She got who she wanted, when she wanted.

Ike was nice. He was strong and kind and respectful. Was she planning on dating him? She hadn't really thought about it, but she wasn't exactly opposed to the idea.

There were too many boys, and it had only been a little over a day. What was she getting herself into?

She decided to brave the chatroom. Of course, she was supposed to be doing the assigned reading and answering the questions on her tablet, but that could be done later. She had more important things to worry about.

[Console]: Welcome Peach T to the chat!

Axel R: welcome back, Fvck God

Demyx H: all hail

Olette G: do I even wanna ask?

Axel R: her friend Daisy found out how to bypass the swear filter

Axel R: then peach said she fucks a lot so here we are

For once, having a reputation as a slut kind of sucked. She started to feel bad that it was being discussed so openly. Still, she continued.

Olette G: Ay, nothing wrong with that

Peach T: that wasn't exactly what i said but okay

May M: but yeah, as I was about to ask, what do you all want to do when you grow up?

May M: well, before all this.

Demyx H: professional swimmer. Think michael phelps but hotter.

Paya S: Sorry! Been zoning in and out cause, you know, class

Axel R: u good cutie

Stahl B: I don't know, I was just gonna twork on my parent's farm.

Demyx H: *twerk haha

Stahl B: work oh my gods

Zelda H: I've always thought being a journalist would be cool! Or maybe a detective, or a researcher, or something where I get to talk to people and find things out. :)

Axel R: all hail our new leader Twork Boi

Axel R: sorry Fvck God

Sidon S: hey, i'm the best twerker here :(

Axel R: prove it, shark ass

Sidon S: after class, in the hall outside of the gym, me and you have a twerking competition

Aqua C: What's wrong with this chat?

[Console]: Say goodbye to Aqua C!

Axel R: lol i can't twerk, i have literally no ass

Rosalina T: :o

Peach T: oof

Demyx H: press f for Axel's ass

Sidon S: F

Sora H: F

Olette G: f

Axel R: at least some of yall want my ass

[Console]: Welcome Daisy S to the chat!

Daisy S: my condolences

Paya S: How'd we get to careers to this?

Paya S: also, i'd love to be a teacher

May M: i wanted to be a vet. Fitting, since I train Pokemon in the other world

Misty Y: lit, me too

Misty Y: pokemon I mean

Peach T: I was gonna be a model

Daisy S: florist for me

Axel R: jobs are for *******

[Console] Please do not swear! If you think this was an error, PM the console!

Axel R: why is p u double s y censored but not cock?

Peach T: sexist

Daisy S: fvck the swear filter, amirite?

[Console]: Welcome Marth L to the chat!

Paya S: it is odd

Fuck, it was Marth. She decided to take the opportunity to get out of the chat and start actually reading the passage. Still, she felt wrong not talking about him. She made herself a compromise: she'd message him, and then check after she answered a question.

[hey, you good? You seemed quiet.]

And then she started doing her actual work. She'd already finished three of the ten questions, and still no response. Maybe he was busy. No need to assume the worst. After her fourth question down, she checked once again and finally got a response.

[I saw you and Ike had fun at your party.]

Fuck. So he knew. Oh well, what's done is done. [Yeah. Let's just cut to the chase. Are you jealous?]

Back to her work. Honestly, the passage was simple, just an article about snails. She figured the assignment was more to teach them about how most of their work would go than really needing to learn about all the uses for snails.

Fifth question down. Luckily, another response. [Yes, a bit. I hope you know I'm not a one night stand kind of guy. I'd hoped you were flirting with me because you wanted to be with me, not with just anyone.]

Understandable. She took a deep breath and thought about what she was going to say before responding. [I understand. I do like you, though. For you.]

Surprisingly, the reading was actually mildly interesting. Apparently, some sea-snails were used to make purple dye in ancient Rome. Still, she was eager to get back to the conversation.

Her heart sank. [Sorry, but I can't really believe that. We can still be friends, but I don't want you to flirt with me anymore.] Fuck. Fucking hell. Why'd she have to get carried away? She knew she shouldn't be too upset, considering she'd only known him for a day, but he seemed really nice. And cute.

She was too shallow for her own good.

[I understand. And yeah, of course still friends.]

Maybe she could prove that she really did like him for more than just his looks. Well, both to him and herself.

0-0-0-0-0

Olette Green wasn't sure exactly when she became friends with Hayner and Pence. When she was young, maybe 4 or so, her mom brought her over to Hayner's mom's house for a book club. Of course, the book club was for the moms (as proven by all the wine), so she was sent to play with Hayner and another kid Pence.

At first, they didn't get along. Hayner and Pence wanted to play trucks, and Olette wanted to play with the Barbies she'd brought (since she thought Hayner was a girl since it sounded like Hailey). They refused to budge, so she instead raided his bookshelf and read every single book. Unfortunately, most were pretty simple, so she finished them all within a few weeks.

And then, Hayner got a bunch of Legos for his 5th birthday, they finally had something they could play together.

When the three of them were the only ones in their highschool (hell, even in their small, beachside town in Georgia) to get invited to a prestigious private school, Olette was confused. She hadn't even applied, had she? Wait, was one of the scholarships they applied for an application to a school? All of the applications started to look the same.

Surprisingly, all of their parents accepted; even Pence's, who seemed like they never wanted to leave town for any reason, ever. Later, she worked out that the invitations must have been enchanted or something.

They weren't even special. They were just kids from another world.

Well, it was better than nothing. Georgia kind of sucked, anyway.

Olette realized how lucky she was to have had her friends at the school with her. All around her, people were transformed and alone.

She and the boys went into their seats in the arena. Malon joined them, and she was glad. Malon seemed like she really needed some normal friends.

"Hey, did you bring your swimsuit?" Olette asked.

Malon grinned. "Yep! Almost forgot, but I set an alarm on my phone."

"It's a perfect day for swimming; I can't wait!"

Before they could go off, Isabelle took attendance. "Oh, and one last thing! I opened up a poll on our class in the tablet! I figured we should go on a field trip next Friday, and I want you guys to pick where! Make sure to take it over the weekend! Anyway, you guys are dismissed, have a good rest of the day."

"Meet you two at the pool, okay?" Hayner said as the boys and girls separated and went to their respective locker rooms.

Olette grinned as she went into one of the stalls to change. She always loved swimming, and even though she preferred the beach, pools were a nice substitute. Besides, this one had a high dive, and even though she had never been on one, she was excited to try. If it was anything like Hayner described, it would be one of the best things she ever did.

"So, how are you enjoying school?" She asked Malon as they each went into a separate stall. "Meet anyone new?"

"I mean, a couple people. Turns out me and Hayner have General Science together, and there was this loud guy Jeremy in my History class. But yeah, it's hard to relate to people when they're all special and I'm, well, not."

Olette frowned a bit as she pulled on her orange one-piece swimsuit. "I mean, yeah, I get that. I talked to this girl Noelle in my Science class, and I think I know that guy. Jeremy Scott, right? From Boston?"

"Yup. He's… crass."

She packed up her clothes and tablet in her bag. "So, here's the thing. I've never really had a close friend I can do the whole gossip thing with, right? Hayner and Pence are, well, boys, and a lot of the girls at our school couldn't keep secrets for the life of them. So, mind if we give it a shot?" She opened the stall door and walked out, still wearing her flip flops.

"Sure! I didn't really have much of that either." Malon came out of her stall wearing a red and white striped bikini with cute little ruffles on the seams.

"Have you met any cute guys? Or girls, if you swing that way." Olette grinned.

Malon's face flushed. "Uh, well, not into girls, but… you know that guy Roy?"

"Roy Eliwood? Yeah, he's in my English class."

"Yeah, he's, like, super cool. I got to talking to him at Peach's party last night, and he's just really nice and funny and…" Malon almost swooned.

Olette laughed as she went towards the sinks. "What happened to making things better for yourself?" She pulled a tube of pink-tinted chapstick and put it on.

She laughed a little. "I don't know what was in that cake, but Roy and I really clicked at the party. He's just… great, you know?" Malon tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "It's a dumb little crush, I know."

"Hey, nothing wrong with a crush! Honestly, with all the weird stuff, it's nice to have a normal teenage experience." Olette smiled and turned back to her.

"So, uh, what about you?"

Olette grinned. "Okay, like, everyone's hot around here."

"Amen to that!"

"Uh, let's see, standouts. There's this girl Kairi, who has this cheerleader vibe, but I get the feeling she's a secret emo or something. Like, yeah, pink and stuff, but there's just enough plaid in her skirt that goes from preppy to alternative. She has triplet sisters named Xion and Namine, but I dunno, Kairi seems the most approachable. I mean, obviously that guy Link, but I swear everyone I've talked to has a crush on him, so, like, I'll just admire him from afar." And then there was… crap, she walked into this one. "And, well, promise you won't tell anyone about this? Especially the boys?"

Malon zipped her lips. "Promise."

Olette bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment. "I, uh, haveacrushonHayner." Her face flushed instantly. "But I swear, I'd die if he found out."

The shorter girl grinned. "Dude, why not?!"

She sighed. "Well, uh, I don't wanna ruin our friendship, and, well… do you seriously promise not to tell _anyone_?"

"Of course, I promise!"

"I, uh, I think Hayner might be gay." Olette sighed. "I mean, he hasn't told me, but I'm usually right about this sort of thing, and… sorry, just needed to get it off my chest." She bit her lip. "So, uh, I don't want him to know I like him like that."

Malon frowned a bit. "I see. Well, there are plenty of other guys, right?"

Yeah, but none of them are Hayner. She sighed again. "Yeah, I know."

"We should head out. I'm sure they're waiting for us." Malon smiled weakly.

"Yeah, we should." Olette smiled as they headed out of the locker room.

When they got out, Hayner and Pence were waiting impatiently. "What took you guys so long?" Hayner scoffed.

"Girl stuff." Olette winked and placed a finger to her lips.

"Oh, hey, Olette, is that a new swimsuit?" Pence asked.

She smiled a bit. "Oh, yeah, I got it last week! Thanks for noticing!"

"Yeah, it looks nice!"

And so, the four went out to the pool. Still, Olette couldn't stop stealing glances at Hayner.

Maybe it was time to move on. There were so many people out there.

0-0-0-0-0

Link really wished he didn't have to have a job in order to afford his apartment. You'd think since he was required to be there to, you know, _save the world_, they'd wave the housing costs, but nope. Oh well, at least it gave him an excuse to earn some spending money instead of just bumming around and playing old video games and smoking pot.

Speaking of, his entire apartment complex smelled like weed. He hated the smell, but at least it meant he didn't have to be discreet, unless by some rare miracle someone came to his apartment.

Right as he was about to get on his board and skate to work, his phone buzzed in his pocket. A snapchat from Zelda, asking if he wanted to hang out.

[Sorry, can't. Work.] He texted back before putting his phone back and heading off to work. When he got there, she'd responded telling him to have as much fun as possible and to be safe. He smiled a bit as he went inside and clocked in.

Stacking boxes in a freezing warehouse wasn't fun. It never would be. But repetition was soothing, especially when everything else was chaotic. Sure, it made his teeth chatter to the point where they might break, but it was more than enough money.

And so, as soon as he clocked in, he put on his company-issued jacket ("Shiveria Stock - Providing every restaurant with Freshly Frozen Food!" it read on the back.) and went to work loading boxes onto the carts that would be pushed onto the trucks whenever it was time to ship out. He slipped an earbud in and listened to the same few indie songs he could fit on his old ass phone. Maybe he should save up for a dedicated music player. After all, he liked supporting local bands.

Holy hell, the bands around there must be super weird. Link couldn't wait.

"Oh, shit, hey Link!"

Fucking hell, who was it? Link turned around to see Demyx coming up to him, wearing the same jacket. How long had he worked here? He also noticed that Demyx looked (and sounded) a bit more feminine, but he sure as hell wasn't going to comment on it.

"Didn't know you worked here! I only have a couple shifts per week, since I'm also a barista at Starbeans." Demyx grinned.

"Mm." Link nodded and continued his work, hoping Demyx would leave him alone.

"Look, uh, can I talk to you about last night?"

What happened last night even? Link just shrugged.

"I had no idea you lived right under Marluxia's apartment, and when you came up to complain, I think he just decided to be louder. I should have said something, but I don't want to get on his bad side too, you know?" He sighed as he grabbed a box and walked with Link. "But the thing is, I don't want to work with him to get revenge on the villain in our other life. Hell, honestly, I don't wanna fight the bad guys at all. I just wanna smoke weed and chill in the pool."

Honestly, Link could relate to that last part. "Why do you hang out with them if you don't want to?"

Demyx sighed. "I just really don't want to piss them off. Like, apparently we're all part of some ancient keyblade destiny or something? I don't know." He set the box on the cart and sighed. "Anyway, the point is, me and Axel are gonna try and get them to hang out at our place more. No idea if it'll work, but honestly, you seem chill and I don't want to bother you. But if they're still being loud and shit up there, you can come to my place and chill." He reached into his pants pocket and handed Link a key. "Knock first, but if I'm not there, feel free to come in and crash on my couch."

Wow, that was… trusting. Link took the key and put it in his pocket. "Uh, thank you."

"Yeah, it's not the first time I've had someone crash on my couch. I, uh, didn't grow up in the best of neighborhoods, so I'm used to this sort of thing." Demyx grinned. "And you seem like the kind of person I can trust."

Link looked at him for a minute. Yeah, he seemed like a bit of an idiot, but at least he was a kindhearted idiot. "Seriously. Thank you."

"I'll leave you alone now. And seriously, come by anytime."

Link promised himself he wouldn't take advantage of that trust.

0-0-0-0-0

"How was school, sweetheart?"

Zelda smiled when her dad greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. Despite having a busy job running a real estate agency, he always made time to be home when Zelda got there. At first, it was out of necessity, since they weren't always this affluent and the busses never reached their house, so he'd leave to pick her up and take her to daycare (or home, once she was old enough to be left alone until he could leave work for good and make dinner). However, even once Zelda could get rides from friends who lived in their neighborhood or drive herself, he'd still come home so they could talk about their days.

"It was good. I'm getting to meet a lot of new people from all over the world." And other worlds, but Dad didn't know yet. It was funny, he was the king in their old world. Zelda had never noticed how regal he looked, but with his big cloudlike beard and the cup of herbal tea sitting in front of him as he read the paper, she really could see it.

She supposed he'd find out someday. Apparently, some people around the town knew their origins. Why weren't the parents told, then? Maybe they'd be told later. Still, having to hold her tongue was… unfortunate.

"I'm glad you're adjusting well." He said, sipping his tea. "Your mother would be proud."

Zelda smiled weakly as she sat at the small breakfast table with him. "Thank you."

"Unfortunately, I am going to have to get back to the office tonight. However, I was thinking that tomorrow, we could have a father-daughter dinner at that little Italian place we saw? What was it, Mario's?"

"That sounds wonderful." She paused for a minute. "I'm on my own for dinner tonight, though, it seems."

Her father sighed. "I know. I was hoping that this move would make things better, and I do hope that as things settle down, we'll be able to spend more time together. However, I did put a little extra spending money in your account so you can treat a couple of your friends to a dinner, if you'd like."

Zelda thought for a moment before grinning. "Thank you!" And she knew exactly who she'd invite. She got up and grabbed a cookie from the jar (Dad always liked to bake some in his spare time). "Oh, I hope work doesn't keep you too late."

"It is what it is. Have a good time, Zelda."

She gave him a quick hug before going upstairs, eating the cookie as she texted Link.

[Sorry, can't. Work.]

Damn. She texted him to be safe and have as much fun as possible. She really hoped it wasn't personal, that he really was just busy. Then again, he seemed like a homebody. Oh well. Who to invite next. Oh, Daisy and Peach! After all, they treated her to some delicious cake. She should pay them back. Luckily, she figured out how to create a group message on the school messaging system, so she created a private group with the two and texted:

Zelda H: Hey guys! Wanna hang out? There's a couple of places on Ms. Shephard's scavenger hunt down on Main Street, so we could knock those out if you all wanted to!

Daisy S: sounds good lol

Peach T: sure! also good to know group messages are a thing lol

Zelda H: Sweet! I can pick you guys up in a few minutes if you want, or we can wait. My schedule's pretty flexible tonight.

Peach T: ye sure, just give me a bit to fix makeup and stuff.

Zelda H: Oh, wait, Daisy, where do you live lol?

Daisy S: with peach lol

Zelda H: Oh, okay! Wait, are you two sisters?

Peach T: cousins, actually! was easier for her to move in with us than have both our families move out here, you know?

Zelda H: Ah, makes sense. Well, message me when you're ready.

With that, she went to get ready herself. Mostly, it was just a change of clothes, but she did reapply her lip balm. She never wore a whole lot of makeup, usually just some deep brown mascara, a tinted lipbalm with decent SPF, and some concealer if there were any noticable pimples. Sure, makeup was fun, but she didn't always have the time. After a few minutes, Peach said she was just finishing up and that she could head over, so Zelda got in her blue SUV and drove over. It seemed a little wastefull, but both their houses were up on hills, and she figured no one wanted to walk all the way over. So, she pulled up to their gate, showed the guard her school ID, and drove up to the circle to park.

She texted that she was there, and Daisy opened up the front door and waved her in. Damn, she really wanted to keep the AC going for a bit. She turned off her car and went inside.

"Hey there, girly!" Daisy said, pulling her into a hug. "Peach is taking a bit longer than expected, but I figured you'd rather wait in here than in the car."

"Thank you." Zelda smiled as she looked around. She'd been here before, but man, it looked nice.

Heels clacked against the hardwood floors as a blonde woman who looked _just_ liked Peach walked in from the living room. "Oh, you must be Zelda! The girls told me they were going to hang out with the girl next door. Honestly, had I known we lived right next to someone the girl's age, I would have introduced us." She laughed a little. "Sorry, I'm Peach's mom, and Daisy's aunt. You can just call me Juliette." She extended out her hand.

Zelda shook it. "Nice to meet you, Juliette."

"Oh, my God, sorry I took so long!" Peach said as she nearly ran down the foyer steps. "I just couldn't get this wing right for the life of me!"

"I feel that in my soul, to be honest." Zelda smiled. "You ready to go?"

"Yep! Oh, hey Mom! Bye Mom!"

"Be safe, girls!" Juliette waved as the three girls left.

When the girls got to the car, Daisy immediately yelled "Shotgun!" and went to the passenger door. Peach laughed and shook her head as she got in the back. As they started driving, Daisy took the aux cord and started playing something a little more poppy than Zelda preferred, but it was at least okay.

Soon, the private suburb became just part of the town. As she drove along the main road connecting most of the city (Funnily enough, it was called Bridge Parkway, not Main Street) she could see the tall tower of Ninten Academy peaking up in the distance. She noticed that it was pretty isolated, marking the edge of town. It didn't seem like that, considering right across the street were houses and a couple of restaurants, but she supposed that yeah, it was kind of far.

As she turned off Bridge Parkway and into Downtown, she smiled. It didn't have all the huge skyscrapers like many, instead being a quaint area with mostly brick buildings. Sure, a few apartment buildings were taller than others, but they still topped out at a few stories.

"Oh, shit, is that Rosalina?"

Zelda glanced over to the sidewalk, and yep, there she was, wandering aimlessly a little bit ahead.

"Let's pick her up and see if she wants to hang out." Daisy grinned.

"Oh, yeah, let's!" Peach agreed.

With a chuckle, Zelda pulled into a spot (thank God that she didn't have to parallel park) near her as she passed. Peach rolled down the window. "Hey, Rosalina!"

Rosalina turned to them and waved.

"Get in, Princess, we're going shopping!"

Zelda honestly didn't expect that to work, but Rosalina got into the car. "Hello."

"Hey! We're going down to Main Street to explore. Is that alright?" She turned around in her seat to look at the newcomer.

"Funny, I was heading that way myself." Rosalina smiled softly. "No matter what path I choose, I always seem to end up exactly where I need to be…"

Zelda smiled as she pulled out of the spot. Daisy and Peach gossiped back and forth as they drove the rest of the way. After a few minutes, they found a spot and parked. "Alright, so, I have the list of scavenger hunt stuff with me, so we can head directly for those or just hit them up as we see them."

"I'd say just do them as we go." Peach said, and then she got out.

The rest of the girls got out, and then they started walking down Main Street. Luckily, Zelda had found a spot right at the begining of the shopping area, so they'd be able to see a lot of the stores. She preffered this kind of setting to a mall. Though, if she really wanted to visit one, there were a bunch in Phoenix.

The first shop that caught anyone's eye was Mettaton Merchendise. It seemed to be a store dedicated to… some guy? They all shrugged and went inside.

"Oh, customers! Honey, power up the register, because we're about to make a sale!" A tall man who looked like a younger Fabio announced. He approached the girls and slicked back his hair. "Hello, wonderful fans! How can I help you today?"

"Fans?" Peach asked.

The man gasped. "You mean, you don't know who I am?!"

"A radio host, right?" Rosalina said. Honestly, Zelda had no idea if that was right or not.

"At least someone appriciates my work! But, I also host a game show, a shopping channel show, I do theater. I, Mettaton, do it all!" He looked at them, clearly waiting for them to be impressed.

Zelda wasn't particularly impressed, but she could admit that he seemed to be a busy man.

"And tell me, do you girls go to Ninten Academy, by chance?"

"Yep!" Peach smiled.

Mettaton leaned in a bit. "I'm actually a robot, in my other world! Your science professor, Alphys, created me to be a super star. Oh, and fight humans and collect their souls, but we've moved past that." He laughed a little. "My husband over there, Papyrus, is a skeleton! Isn't that delightful?!" He motioned over to the bald guy with a goofy grin and a basketball themed shirt, who waved at them.

"Heh, does that mean he _bones_ you?" Daisy chuckled. Zelda glared at her. How rude!

"Hey, no puns allowed!" Papyrus yelled, seemingly not carign about the sex joke. "That's my brother's job!"

"Anyway, feel free ask me any questions about my merchandise. Or, of course, my favorite subject, me."

By the time Mettaton was done and the girls could get their bearings, Rosalina had already wandered off. They eventually found her, looking in the clothes and accesories area. Most of the clothing was bright pink and black, plus way too avant garde for everyday wear, but she could appreciate the effort put in. The accesories were more of the same, but Rosalina had found a chunky necklace that she liked. More power to her.

As she looked around, she felt strange. This guy was mostly selling stuff with his face on it. At some point, she heard Peach and Daisy snicker. She went over, and they showed her a mug with a cartoon Mettaton making a silly face. Yeah, it was kind of goofy, but… oh, wait, oh God no! That was that hentai face that people put on jackets! Noooo!

Did… did Mettaton know? Was he aware of what that face meant? He had to be, right?

"I'm totally buying this, by the way." Daisy chuckled.

They had all had enough, so they went to check out.

"AH, YES, THIS MUG! IT'S OUR MOST POPULAR ITEM. I'M HONESTLY NOT SURE WHY." Papyrus said as he rung Daisy out. It took all of Zelda's willpower to hold her tongue. He rung out Rosalina for her necklace, and then they all left the building as fast as possible.

"Okay, so, uh, am I on drugs or did that really happen?" Peach said, barely holding in her laughter.

"It's real. Oh God, it's real!" Daisy howled with laughter.

After a moment, they calmed down. Next door was a place that looked like it used to be called Grillby's, but most of the sign had been scratched off, and 'sans was written off to the side. "Hey, this place is part of the scavenger hunt. Take a selfie with Sans at 'sans."

"Well, shit, can't be as weird as the last one, can it?"

They went inside, and it appeared to be just a living room. A bald guy in a blue jacket and basketball shorts sat in a reclining chair. "yo." Zelda couldn't describe it, but it sounded like he was speaking in all lower case.

"Uh, is this a shop?" Peach asked.

"nope."

The girls all looked at each other. "Uh, are we supposed to be in here?" Zelda asked.

"make yourself at home." He said, flipping through the channels on the TV. It all sounded like static.

They all looked at each other and shrugged. "You're Sans, right?" Peach asked.

"i think so."

"Uh, we're supposed to take a selfie with you for Ms. Shephard's scavenger hunt." She said, taking out her phone.

"oh, you're toriel's students." He got up and walked over. "she's an old friend of mine. though, i guess in this world, we've only known each other for a few weeks now. feels like longer." He shrugged.

They all grouped up, and Peach held out her phone. Lucky, everyone could squeeze into frame. "everyone say 'funny bone'.."

"Funny bone!"

Peach showed everyone the picture. It turned out pretty well. "I'll send it to you guys to turn in."

"oh, and if you ever notice toriel in a bad mood, tell her a skeleton pun. i'd give you an example, but i'm… _bone dry_." Zelda swore she heard a 'badum-tss' coming from… somewhere.

"You're Papyrus's brother, aren't you?" Rosalina said.

Oh, duh. Of course he was. "sure am."

"Anyway, we should get going. Nice to meet you, Sans."

"come back anytime."

The girls left. "Okay, that was weird too!" Peach laughed.

"I just wonder why his house has an open sign." Daisy smiled.

"I think he just wants friends. I mean, that's one way to do it." Zelda said. "Wouldn't be my method, but you know."

The four of them walked for a bit before popping into Able Sister's Boutique. Finally, a normal shop. The clothes were a bit quirky, sure, but some of them were really cute. Zelda found a flowy white tank top (because you can't have enough of those) and held it up. "What do you guys think? Cute?"

"Oh my God, I just noticed how cute your pants are!" Peach said. "Oh, and the top looks adorable."

"What kind of flowers are those?" Daisy asked.

"Oh, thank you guys!" Zelda looked down at her mom jeans. "I actually stitched the flowers myself." She ran a finger along the the flowers. They had five petals, each one white with a light blue patch on the inside. "I don't think they're real, since I just designed them as I went." Though, now that she knew about the other world… maybe it wasn't her imagination. Maybe it was a memory. "I've always called them Silent Princesses."

"You're really talented!" Peach grinned.

"Aww, thank you!"

The girls went throught the rest of the shop. Rosalina didn't buy anything, and Zelda only got the tank to, but Peach and Daisy each got quite a few things. As long as they could carry it, she supposed. After they checked out, they left and continued walking down the street.

"Oh, hey-a, Peach!"

The four turned to see Mario standing in front of a restaurant (aptly named Mario's. Oh, sweet, that's the one Dad had said!) twirling a sign.

"Oh, uh, hey Mario."

"Would you ladies like-a a bit to eat-a? We've just-a expanded our-a menu!" He grinned.

"Me and my father are actually coming here tomorrow night for dinner!" Zelda said.

"That's-a wonderful! See you tomorrow-a!"

The four kept walking, and Peach seemed… quieter. "You good?" Zelda asked after they were a bit away from the restaurant.

"Yeah. It's just… I dunno, I get wierd vibes from Mario." Peach shrugged. "Like, I'm supposed to be his girlfriend or something in our other world, and I think he's hoping that'll happen here, but… I don't think that's what I want."

Zelda frowned a bit. "Well, I mean, you shouldn't feel obligated. It's your choice." Of course, she didn't have any experience. Everyone from her world that she'd met, she got along with, except for maybe Midna (who, to be fair, just seemed uninterested in friends at all).

"I know." She sighed. "I just feel shallow."

Daisy's stomach growled. "And I feel hungry! Are there any restaurants on the scavenger hunt?"

Zelda looked. "Yeah, it says to take a picture with any Starbeans sign. Sound's like a Starbucks, but maybe they have actual food, too."

"Sweet, let's go!"

And so, they found the Starbeans on the next block. They took a selfie with the sign before heading in. All the coffee blends seemed to be named after various laughs, and even their soda was called Chuckola Cola. Luckily, they also had some sandwiches, so it could be their dinner too.

"Get what you want, I'm paying." Zelda said.

"Aww, you don't have to." Peach said.

"No, it's my treat. You guys made some of the best cake I've ever had." Zelda grinned.

Each of them got a different kind of coffee and sandwich and agreed to let everyone try everything. The sandwiches were good, since it's hard to go wrogn with meat and veggies on good bread, but the coffees were… something else. Not only were they named after laughter, they tasted like it too. It was hard to describe, but she felt like she could drink it all day.

"You know, there's so many shops here." Peach sighed.

"Yeah, and we haven't even hit the square yet." Zelda smiled a bit. "Should we call it tonight and come back out here some other time?"

Daisy shrugged. "Yeah. If every shop is going to be as exhausting as Mettaton Merchandise, I think we might die."

"Alright, then it's settled." Zelda smiled.

Today was a good day. She'd made a lot of friends, and seen a lot of new stuff. She always liked trying new things, and this town was full of them.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Holy shit that was a long one. Peach got herself in trouble, Olette set up some future love drama, Link made a friend, and Zelda… oh my god, the shop segment was fun to write. A lot of the shops will be taken from the games, but things like Shiveria Stock and Mettaton Merchandise are my own creation.

Anyway, Last Name Explanations:

Olette Green (Kingdom Hearts) - She has green eyes and I'm lazy.  
Jeremy Scott (Team Fortess 2) - Yep, it's Scout. Last name will be explained next chapter.

And yes, I'm including TF2. I was debating this for a while, but I decided that Scout is my loud baby and I need him here to balance out the sad shit I'm writing for a TF2 fic that's not really about the game, moreso a way to get my feelings about the hurricane out. The other Mercenaries will be townies. Medic is one of the school nurses. Demoman runs a bar. Soldier is a military recruiter who will yell at EVERYONE in the cafeteria. Anyway, see you guys next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

A/N: Thank you for over 700 views! And 5 reviews, dang. Reviews are good. I'm glad I have support, considering that there are at least 4 active high school AUs right now. Anyway, to the story!

0-0-0-0-0

Link woke up with a start. Something wasn't right. He sat up. Wait, this wasn't his place. He wouldn't dream of keeping anything this filthy. The rank smell of weed hit him, and he remembered why he was here.

Marluxia was being extra loud. He swore the man was trying to drive him crazy. So, even though he would rather sleep in his own bed, he went down the building to Demyx's place. Even though he literally just went there to smoke, Demyx insisted they get high.

It was a nice time. Demyx was loud, real loud, but at least he was funny and _wasn't_ trying to sabotage Link's sleep.

He needed a shower. Luckily, the apartment layout was the same, so he was easily able to navigate from the dingy couch (how was it already dingy? It was the same one that came with the apartment) to the bathroom. He glanced into the open bedroom door, and Demyx was sprawled out face down on his bed. Link considered waking him ask if he could use the shower, but figured it would be rude to wake him up.

He was always one to take quick showers, but today was extra quick. Demyx's shampoo and conditioner were different than his, fancy and ocean scented. He mixed the two together in his palm to save time. The body wash was the manly scent of "EXTRA SPORT", which honestly, just smelled like decent smelling deodorant.

After he got out of the shower, he folded the towel he'd used and put it on the sink. It was hard to find a place, given all the half-empty hair products. Demyx seemed to put a lot more effort into his look than Link. He quickly got dressed, thanking his past self for bringing spare clothes, and left the bathroom.

"Oh, yeah, hey," Demyx said. Link was a bit startled. The other boy had just gotten up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You're welcome to make some coffee or something. I'll be a bit."

Link just nodded.

"Oh, and Axel gives me rides to school, and I'm sure if you wanted to, he'd give you one too."

He thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Alright. I'm gonna shower now, so, uh, make yourself at home." Demyx said before disappearing into the bathroom.

Coffee. Yeah, that sounded nice. He went into the kitchen, and jeez, the counters just had so much _stuff_. It took all his will to not clean it all off right then and there. He managed to find the coffee pods and put the most neutral flavored one in.

"Hey, sexy!" The door opened with a thud, and Link nearly jumped. "Wait, you're not Dem…"

Link clamored for words as the tall redheaded man that just entered glared at him. "Uh, he let me stay the night!"

The man knitted his eyebrows down for a moment, thinking. He then broke out into a loud, booming laugh. "Shit, you're Link, aren't you!" Link nodded a bit. "Demyx told me he gave you a spare key. He here?"

Link pointed towards the bathroom.

"Great, thank you." He went towards the bathroom and threw open the door. "Hey, you didn't tell me there'd be another cute boy here! He single?"

"Holy shit, close the door, Axel!"

Link tried to stifle his laughter. Axel was… certainly a character, to say the least. His coffee was done, and he took a small sip. This year was going to be chaos, and he was going to love it.

0-0-0-0-0

Noelle Holiday had always wanted to contribute to something. After all, her mother was the mayor in their little town in Alaska. That was always something to live up to, wasn't it? Luckily, they could afford to help her pay for an apartment so long as her grades were good and she had a part-time job.

The heat in Arizona was something else. The fur wasn't helping.

Right. Fur.

It wasn't quite as shocking anymore, at least. Still, every time she walked back onto campus, she felt uneasy. A part of her felt like this was how she was meant to be, and the rest of her didn't want it to be right. All the jokes her father made about how ridiculous furries were… God, how would he react if he knew he was secretly a reindeer?

She was usually one of the first people to homeroom, and today was no different. The only other people were the triplets, the red-haired one's chair turned around so she could talk to her sisters. They all waved a friendly hello as she went to her seat in the front of the classroom. While she waited for homeroom to start, she looked through her planner and made sure she had all of her stuff.

After a couple minutes, people started streaming in. That angel boy Pit talked eagerly at that girl with the pretty pink ombre hair Gunnthra as they sat down in the row behind her. That quiet girl (Chell? She was pretty sure that's the name she heard during attendance) sat in the back, probably reading again. That goth girl Abigail sat next to Chell and got on her phone. A few others came in just before the bell.

And then there was Susie. She came in right as the bell rang and sat right next to Noelle. They weren't close, not yet, but she didn't seem to mind her presence.

Noelle also wanted to contribute to other people's happiness.

At first, Susie scared her. After all, the first time they saw each other, she'd just broken a mirror. Plus, she was a tall, purple dinosaur, and not in a Barney kind of way. But damn, she was a hot dinosaur.

Noelle wanted to make sure she was okay. So, she set off to find her at lunch that day. Susie sat alone, eating all the food she could. Noelle asked if she could sit with her, and Susie glared at her. "Why?"

That made Noelle flush with embarrassment. "I-uh, sorry, I just thought you might need a friend."

Susie narrowed her eyes. "I don't do the friends thing."

Noelle sat down anyway. "Well, that's a sad way to live."

The taller girl shrugged and ate her food. "That's just how it is." But she didn't chase Noelle away, so she saw it as a victory.

The next day, Susie joined her in homeroom. "Don't think this is something special, I just can't stand anyone else." Lunch was similar, not really talking but still being near each other.

And then, back to present time. Susie was there, yet again. It was kind of nice, honestly. "H-hey, Susie."

"Why do you stutter so much, anyway?" The taller girl scoffed. "You scared, or something?"

"No!" Noelle quickly lied. "I mean, uh, a little. There's still so much new stuff."

"That's… not what I meant." Susie shrugged.

Before Noelle could respond, Mr. Lowell called attention to the class. "Good morning, students! Today, I have a special announcement. Our school will be forming a student council! Anyone can join, and we will be holding elections for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Event Lead. Campaigning takes place next week, and Friday morning, votes will be cast. Results will be announced on Monday."

Finally, an opportunity to contribute. She didn't want to be President, no. But treasurer? Right up her alley! She couldn't wait to tell her friends in Advanced Math.

0-0-0-0-0

Jeremy Scott wasn't used to having his own identity. He was the youngest of eight brothers, and so he was always known as "the youngest Scott brother" or "that Scott kid who needs to take a Ritalin" or, later "that Scott kid who takes too much Ritalin" It was rare that anyone even called him Jeremy. It wasn't until he was 14 until he got a nickname to himself. His math teacher was sick, so there was a sub who was blind as a freakin' bat. She misread Scott as Scout, and so, he insisted that people call him Scout.

No one ever did.

His backstory was ironic. Was that the right word? Didn't matter. In his world, he was _the_ Scout. On the battlefield, he zoomed ahead of his teammates, stealing intel and zipping away before anyone could catch him. He wasn't just bashing fools who insulted his ma with a baseball bat anymore, he was actually taking on men two, even three times his size! He didn't have to chase his brothers to the fight, no no. He _was _the fight. Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brotha', he _hurt people_. He was a real force-a-nature.

Oh, and his dad wasn't his dad. That part didn't matter, though. He was a bad guy, good riddance. Hell, if he could find the man who beat his ma until finally divorcing her when Scout was eight, he'd gladly bash his brains in.

Nah, the important part was that his real dad was here in town. His tablet was freakin' stupid, though. Didn't even give a name, just called him Spy. Like, how was he supposed to find him? Just going downtown and yelling "Heya, Spy, come here!" wouldn't work. Probably.

He wasn't sure what he'd do when he found Spy. Beat his ass for leaving Ma in that shithole? Hug him? Maybe Spy didn't wanna be found. After all, he was a spy. Spies usually tried to stay hidden.

Still, he'd appreciate living with someone. Living in an apartment alone was _not_ fun. His wall was already worn from how much he threw his ball at it. Have you even _seen _his ball? He loved his ball.

The only good that came out of living there was his downstairs neighbor Demyx. Sure, he was loud, but Scout liked loud. Hell, he freakin' loved loud. The two got along great, and even had their Basic Math class together. They were some of the oldest which was a bit embarrassing, but he really didn't care. Nope. Not one bit. Math was dumb anyway. Algebra? Sounded like a made-up word. Or an extra dumb bra. Why did girls even wear bras, anyway? He tried asking this girl in middle school, but she just slapped him.

The first day, Demyx sat with a couple people he knew from his world, some pink-haired guy and a British dude. Scout tried to join, but their table was full because of some rando chick named Rikku. But, the next day, Demyx joined him instead. Thank God that Mr. Mewtwo didn't care about assigned seating. That sort of thing was dumb, anyway. Mr. Mewtwo could probably read their minds and see if they were there, anyway.

They weren't the only two at their table. Terra Buckley sat across from him, and Susie Joyner filled the last spot (because it was the only one left in the classroom). Terra was that jock type, kinda like his older brothers, but he was nice. Real freakin' stupid, but they all were. Susie, though, was a Grade-A bitch. Most of the time, she just ignored them, but then, for no freakin' reason, she'd just snap.

Mr. Mewtwo just got done teachin', but he may as well've been speaking Scottish or something. He opened up his tablet and pulled up the worksheet, but man. "Do any of you guys get this shit?"

Demyx laughed. "Bruh, we're the dumbass table. You think anyone's smart here?"

"I just want to go home," Terra said. "Or a party, but that's not until tomorrow."

Scout leaned back. "You know, I've never been to a real party."

Terra grinned. "Well, you can come with me. You know Alex Mullner?"

"Yeah, yeah, the football guy! Have music class with him. God, that class is dumb. Like, how do people even read music anyway?"

"His grandparents are out of town, so he's throwing a big one. They have a pool and everything!"

Demyx's eyes lit up. "Hell yeah. That sounds awesome!"

"Sure! I can give you guys a ride if you want."

"Hell yeah. You know if there's gonna be any alcohol? Cause I've never gotten drunk around people my age, only by myself and with my brothers. My brothers and I always did stupid shit, and, well, no one likes drinking alone." Scout murmured that last part.

"Probably. I'll be bringing some tequila anyway."

"What about cocaine? I've always wanted to try that."

Before Terra could even answer, Mr. Mewtwo glared at their group. "You know, I would appreciate it if you didn't talk so _loudly_ about your drug habits."

Scout rolled his eyes. "It's not even a habit yet! Ritalin, yeah, but not _cocaine_. Come on, man!"

Mr. Mewtwo just sighed. "I encourage you to get help, but for now, please be quiet and focus on your work."

That was dumb. But, hey, you know what? He had a party to go to over the weekend. He couldn't freakin' wait.

0-0-0-0-0

The day was awkward for Peach, to say the least. Having so many classes with a guy who's disappointed in you? Yikes. They still sat in the same row of tables at lunch, but at least she and Marth didn't have to talk. Instead, she could listen to Zelda talk about running for Student Council President. She'd be a good fit, Peach could tell.

At some point, Zelda asked if Peach was running for anything, and she just laughed. "Hell no, I'm not responsible enough. Might be a member, but no way am I running for anything."

"Fair enough. Recognizing when you're not up to a task is an important skill." Zelda smiled serenely.

After lunch, it was time for Home Ec with Isabelle. It was odd having the… assistant principal? Honestly, she had no idea what Isabelle was to the school. Anyway, it was odd having her for a teacher. She was sweet, though, and seemed to enjoy teaching. From what it sounded like, the class was a balance of money, cooking, gardening, and various skills like sewing and knitting. Oh well, as long as there wasn't any homework. This one emo chick, Paine, argued that the class was sexist, but it was just a life skills class. Isabelle made it clear that these are things guys need to know too. Besides, if that jock guy Terra enjoyed it, it couldn't be that bad.

That day, they were learning how to make chocolate chip cookies. Peach already knew how to, but hey, cookies! She and Daisy went over to their station to get ready.

"Oh, hey, Peach, Daisy!" Speaking of Terra, the guy came up to their counter. "You guys know about Alex's party?"

"Party?" Peach raised an eyebrow. She definitely didn't want to miss a party.

"No one's told you? Yeah, he's throwing a pool party tomorrow night. I think he mentioned he was going to say something in the chatroom, but I don't think he has yet." Terra smiled. Honestly, Peach had been avoiding her tablet, so she wouldn't know anyway. "I figured, since you guys threw a party, that you'd want to come to one!"

"Hell yeah! Just send us the address!" Daisy grinned.

"Oh, and there's gonna be booze, if that changes your opinion."

Peach smirked. "Just makes me more likely to go."

"Great! See you guys there!"

Daisy and Peach grinned at each other. They got the prep done for their cookies, and after they were in the oven, Peach decided to brave getting on her tablet. Funny enough, she had a message from Axel asking if she was going to Alex's party. God, they had similar names. That was an oof if she'd ever seen one.

Alright, chatroom time. She hoped and prayed that Marth wasn't on there. If she remembered right, he was in Aerobics, so he probably wasn't.

[Console]: Welcome Peach T to the chat!

Daisy S: haha i beat you here

Peach T: shut up lol

Axel R: you guys are gonna be at the party, right?

Daisy S: ye

Terra B: i told them

Demyx H: k cool. should i make a gc for everyone who's going?

Axel R: wait until he officially anounces it

Demyx H: k

[Console]: Welcome Mist G to the chat!  
Demyx H: hello new friend

Mist G: hihihi

[Console]: Welcome Riku Y to the chat!

Sora H: o/

Riku Y: \o

[Console]: Welcome Stahl B to the chat!

Stahl B: terra told me there was a party lol

Aqua C: Shouldn't we wait to really advertise until Alex actually makes an announcement?

[Console]: Welcome Alex M to the chat!

Aqua C: Speak of the Devil. LOL.  
Alex M: nah go ahead and talk about it, i'll make an announcement once i'm don with school work.

Demyx H: make a group chat

Alex M: lol i will in a few. Pm me for the address.

Peach, of course, private messaged him. In a couple moments, he sent the address. Huh, so he was kind of far off. Oh well. It wasn't like it affected much, since she could drive herself.

Before she got back on her tablet, she checked on the cookies. Yep, they looked like what they were supposed to!

As she turned it back on, she got a notification that she was added to another group chat. Oh, right, Alex was making one.

[Console]: Alex M added Peach T, Daisy S, Axel R, Demyx H, Stahl B, Aqua C, Terra B, and Haley C.  
Alex M: there we go. Feel free to add more people.  
[Console]: Demyx H added Link E and Jeremy S.

Link E: ?

Demyx H: there's a party and you should come

Link E: ?

Link E: why me

Peach T: come on, have a little fun ;)

Axel R: we need more cute guys

Alex M: uhhh i was thinking more cute girls but okay

Haley C: I'm right here.

Alex M: i know, there's just a lot of guys

Axel R: not everyone is straight my guy

Jeremy S: OH MY GOD I JUST FOUND OUT THERE'S A DYSLEXIA OPTION

Daisy S: dude it's not hard to find

Jeremy S: WAIT YOUR DYSLEXIC TOO?

Daisy S: ye

Peach T: she is

Axel R: chill with the caps  
Jeremy S: EASIER TO READ

Jeremy S: UPPER CASE LETTERS ARE EASIER

Demyx H: scout my guy

Terra B: wait u don't wear glasses though?

Demyx H: it makes it look like you're yelling

Terra B: how were you planning on passing english?

Jeremy S: I WASNT

Axel R: understandable, have a nice day

Peach T: most schools have a disability office

Jeremy S: THE FUCK YOU MEAN?

Daisy S: wait how did you survive school

Jeremy S: I DIDN'T

Axel R: i mean same but

Jeremy S: WAS VERY CONFUSED WHEN I GOT AN INVITE

Alex M: same

Terra B: same

Demyx H: same

Link E: same tho

Aqua C: I'm sorry, all of you are dumbasses.

Demyx H: yeah

[Console]: Haley C added Mipha S, Pit I, Sora H, Riku Y, Yuffie K, and Olette G.

Haley C: people in chat were interested

[Console]: Mipha S added Urbosa G and Sidon S.

Terra B: wooo this party is gonna be lit

Alex M: btw, i probably can't get alcohol for everyone, at least enough to get hammered. bring your own stuff if you can

Axel R: i gotcha covered

Demyx H: weed friendly?

Alex M: no, smells too much

Demyx H: understandable

Jeremy S: COCAINE?

Alex M: uuhhhhh i'm not buying that but if you have some i guess?

Jeremy S: IM TOO BROKE

Alex M: me too man

Terra B: we're still in high school

Peach T: i mean it's not hard to get but like

Peach T: your nose can collapse if you do it too much

Daisy S: ye

Jeremy S: THATS BAD

Link E: yeah no shit don't do hard drugs

Haley C: yeah drugs are bad ;)

Stahl B: I'm not drinking, is that gonna be a problem?

Alex M: i mean, you're choice, I guess

Stahl B: I'll be a designated driver then :)

Mipha S: thank you, you're doing us a huge service

Peach T: good human

Stahl B: :)

[Console]: Sora H invited Kairi M, Xion M, and Namine M.

[Console]: Axel R invited Ventus A and Roxas A.

Namine M: are there going to be psychedelics? always wanted to try.

Kairi M: Namine?!

Namine M: was just curious

Link E: never let your first trip be in public. You'll want a sober trip sitter and a calm place.

Demyx H: you do lsd?

Link E: used to. im familiar with how to have a safe trip

Sora H: I've never even been drunk lol

Sora H: kind of excited

Kairi M: I kinda want to but idk

Axel R: ah, what it would be like to think responsibly

Peach T: Getting drunk depends on who's around and what you drink tbh

Jeremy S: ARE PARTIES GOOD FOR IT?

Peach T: depends on how much you trust the people around you  
[Console]: Olette G added Malon F, Pence W and Hayner A.

Daisy S: please never go to parties alone

Yuffie K: especially since you're a girl, you have to be careful

Axel R: i mean, me and Demyx are the only villains going, and we're only villains on a technicality

Mipha S: also make sure you don't let your dirnk out of your sight

Peach T: i mean, it's not like we're complete strangers

Mipha S: still

Alex M: i'll keep an eye out for bad stuff

Stahl B: And I'll be sober, so if you end up needing a ride, I can give one (or help you order an Uber.

Aqua C: I used to party, but yeah, just be careful and you'll be fine.

Terra B: you did?

Alex M: oh yeah, make sure to bring swimsuits.

The oven timer went off, and Peach had had enough of the chat for a bit anyway. She was excited for the party. After all drinking with cute guys? Especially Link, that was exciting.

Yeah, it was going to be great.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: so it took me a while to get here, but here we are. Next chapter may break up the "four POVs" structure that I've had going for a bit. Anyway, I wanna thank you all again for your support. I feel like this chapter is a bit short, but the next one will be longer. Anyway, reviews help me so much, so please comment on what you like (and what you don't).


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Link was not looking forward to the party. He hadn't even chosen to go, but Demyx told him he was going. He supposed he could just stay home, but Demyx seemed really excited.

It was the end of the school day, and thank God he didn't have to work. He was just about to skate home when Zelda approached him. "Hey, Link, want a ride home?"

He smiled a bit. It was too hot anyway. He nodded, and she grinned and lead him to her car.

"What's your address?" She asked as she handed Link the phone. It was already open on Google Maps, so Link put in the apartment complex's address and handed it back. Zelda turned the air conditioner to full blast and pulled out of the parking lot. Her short blonde hair whipped a bit from the breeze.

Damn, she was cute.

"So, uhh, did you hear about the party? Alex's, I mean." Zelda asked after a moment.

Link nodded, and then after remembering she had to pay attention to the road, made a slight noise of approval.

"I kind of want to go, honestly." She blushed a little. "I mean, it sounds dumb, but I've never been to a party. Well, birthday parties and stuff, but you know what I mean." She cleared her throat. "But, well, I know Peach and Daisy are going, and I like them, but, well, it's not really my scene, and I kinda want someone I can talk to." Zelda gave him a quick glance.

Fuck, was that an invitation? "I'm going with Demyx and Axel." As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to backpedal. It sounded rude, like he didn't want to go with her. "So, uh, I'll see you there," He corrected.

"Okay, cool." Zelda sighed a bit, hopefully with relief. "So, you won't need a ride?"

Link shook his head. "Nah. Unless I want to leave early."

"Okay. I'll, uh, see you there." And just like that, they were at the apartments. "Which one is yours?"

"I can walk from here."

"Oh. Well, see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Link nodded and got out.

Yeah, tomorrow was going to be a great day.

0-0-0-0-0

Zelda hadn't planned on going to the party at all. Alcohol? Not her thing. Plus, she was running for Student Council President, so anything that could soil her reputation… not a good idea.

But her dad had _texted_ (not even told, just texted) that they'd have to cancel their dinner plans for the night. He was busy. Of course he was. When did he ever have time for his daughter anymore?

He asked to move it to Saturday night. But nope, she was busy. She had a party to attend.

Thank God Link was going to be there. Sure, Peach and Daisy were nice, but she knew they were there to drink and pick up boys. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but that's not what she was going for.

Honestly, she didn't know what to expect. She'd seen plenty of movies, but obviously those weren't going to be accurate. Everything had to wrap up in a pretty little bow, ending up with a fight or a kiss or someone punching their dad for being an asshole. But those stories were a lot less complicated.

Zelda, while she'd accepted that she had a double life, still was shaken by everything. She wasn't even entirely human, and surely those who were completely inhuman were worse off. Except for that Kirby kid, who seemed completely happy with turning from a human boy to a pink puffball every time he came to school. Still, no one could deny that they were fundamentally different people than they'd been even last week. Sure, they could party and pretend to be normal teenagers, but everyone knew that it was a lie.

It was going to be an interesting party, that was for sure.

0-0-0-0-0

Lucina Lowell was always a good girl. Never sneaking out of the house, always getting good grades, attending church on Sunday and family dinners on Wednesdays. At least that's what her father thought.

He had no idea that she snuck out of the house on Saturdays to drink her worries away. He had no idea she was always hungover for whatever bullshit the priest was saying about how gays go to hell.

To be fair, her father didn't subscribe to that, but apparently you had to take the good with the bad. He was trying his best to be a good Catholic father, but it just wasn't working. She'd intended on talking to him about not going to church anymore after they moved, but the whole "other world" thing threw everyone through a loop.

When it was just the two of them (because even though they were Catholic, divorce was totally okay), it was easy to sneak out, but… Marth was in the room next door. There's no way he wouldn't hear the window open. Would he tell Dad? Maybe, maybe not. They were both goody two-shoes (though Lucina suspected Marth wasn't quite as preppy as he acted.), so if asked he'd probably crack.

She could invite him. It would be a bit awkward, bringing your cousin to a party and revealing that you're a drunk bastard. Still, she probably should negotiate for his silence.

Her ride was going to be there in a half an hour. It was some girl named Mipha and her little brother Sidon. They seemed cool enough, and were perfectly willing to go out of their way to pick up a stranger to make a couple bucks in gas money. Well, it probably wasn't that out of the way, but still.

She had to go ask Marth to keep quiet. It was the only way she would get out of this. She took a deep breath and knocked on her cousin's door.

"H-hey, whatcha need?" Marth asked, seemingly… panicked? She glanced in his room, and the window was wide open. Wait, was he sneaking out too? Lucina couldn't contain her giggles. "You okay?"

"Are you going to Alex's party too?" She asked in a hushed whisper, still laughing a little.

Marth raised his eyebrows. "Too? Wait, you're going?"

Lucina nodded. "I was going to ask you to cover for me, but I guess we're both fucked, huh?" Man, her cousin was less of a good Catholic boy than she thought.

He nervously laughed and waved her into the room. "Yeah, I guess so." He locked the door behind him. "Your dad's going to be pissed if he finds out."

She grinned a little. "Nah, we won't get caught. I've done this before. We'll just have to be quiet coming back in." She pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She was already dressed for a party, jean shorts and a tank top to combat the summer heat, and her bathing suit was in her bag, along a bottle of vodka to contribute to the group. "You have a ride?"

"Yeah, Roy and Ike are going to be here in a few. You?"

She though for a moment. "Well, Mipha and Sidon were supposed to pick me up, but if I can hitch a ride with you guys, that would be better."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Marth shrugged.

"Cool." She got out her tablet and messaged Mipha that she'd found a ride, and Mipha replied with a quick [cool, see you at the party!] She glanced up, and Marth was visibly nervous. "First time?"

Marth nodded. "Yeah, I just don't want to get in trouble, you know?"

"Look, I can help. I'll get us home, and hopefully we won't be too hungover for church in the morning." She put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "You got it?"

"How do you even put up with church while hungover?"

She laughed a little. "Can't put up with it anyway, may as well have fun the night before, right?"

"Wait, you can't stand church either?"

Lucina raised an eyebrow. "Holy shit, Marth, you're suddenly my favorite person in the world." She grinned a little. "And you have so much to learn."

Marth checked his tablet. "Ike's at the gas station a couple blocks away. I guess that means it's time to go, huh?" He shook a little.

She went over to his window. "All you've gotta do is climb out, and suddenly everything in your life is easy." She climbed out, and after a moment, Marth did too. "Now come on, let's go before you change your mind." And with that, the duo fled into the night.

0-0-0-0-0

"You think we're gonna get some good dirt?" Larxene asked as she put on her jacket.

Marluxia smirked. "Especially if we can get Link drunk. Or, better yet, he gets himself drunk and we can capture the aftermath."

"Maybe we can take his hero ass down a few pegs after all."

0-0-0-0-0

It was only an hour into the party, and Terra Buckley was already drunk. Scout had given him first grab of the beer he'd brought as a thank you for driving, he'd drunk another from the community stock, and Aqua Conway had challenged him to a game of shots.

Aqua Conway. Blue hair, but totally the smartest person in the room. Running for Student Council President, but could totally beat him in any drinking game.

She was the perfect woman.

She was currently sitting on a beach chair, passing around a bottle of some peach stuff with Daisy, Peach, Zelda. He wanted to approach her, but after she'd made a fool out of him…

Besides, the pool was nice. Demyx was splashing around, his friend Axel was sitting at the edge, and Terra was relaxing on a pool floaty. He'd lost track of Scout, but it wasn't like they were official buddies, right? He was probably inside playing ping-pong.

After a few minutes, Peach wandered off with the bottle, Zelda went inside, and Daisy jumped in the pool.

Aqua was alone. He had to talk to her.

Demyx gave him a rub on his shoulder to encourage him before swimming over to Daisy and splashing her (and with that single action, starting a war that would last for centuries).

Terra got out of the pool and sat across from her. "Hey there, fren."

Aqua smiled, her eyes a little unfocused, but that was okay. "Hey, fren. Here to challenge me again?"

"And get even drunker? No, no, fren." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You've bested me in that."

She raised her eyebrows as she looked as his had. "Um, Terra… you're not the most perceptive person, are you?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Terra, uh, you're a good enough guy, but… I'm not into guys."

Not into guys? Was she too focused on school or something. Oh, wait. "You're gay?"

"I, uh, thought it was pretty obvious." She laughed a little and peeled his hand off her shoulder. "Uh, I'm gonna go inside. Have a good night, Terra."

Before he had time to process anything, he heard a loud splash come from the pool.

0-0-0-0-0

Peach wasn't drunk. Nope. Completely sober. Not one drop of alcohol.

She couldn't keep a straight face as she lied to herself. Holy shit, man, she was trashed. Apparently that bottle of peach schnapps was way stronger than she'd anticipated. Also not as good. Then again, no alcohol tasted good.

Ike and Marth were standing together, talking about some dumb shit probably. Was it her? She was watching them while she talked with the girls, and occasionally one of them would glance over at her. Her ears were burning. She had to know.

"Heya, guys." She said, stumbling over. "Y'all want more to drink?"

They both looked uncomfortable. Shit. "Nah, and, uh, I don't think you should have more either." Marth said, giving her a worried look. Pfft, she was fine. He didn't need to worry.

"Probably not. But fuck it, it's not like my time here matters much. Why not have fun, am I right?" She laughed.

"Peach, are you okay?" Ike asked, lightly touching her arm.

"I'd be more okay if a hottie like you would come with me inside." Her body pressed close to his. Mmm, he was warm. And shirtless, how hadn't she noticed. Toned too. Damn. She couldn't help but glance over at Marth, who was intentionally looking away.

"You're drunk. No." Ike let go of her. "Go drink some water or something."

She pouted. "Come on, it'd be fun." When it looked like Ike was done, she turned to Marth. Goddamn he was cute. "You could too, if you wanna. Would be a great time."

"Peach, I told you to stop flirting with me." Marth sighed. "Please go sober up."

Hmmph. Fuck them, anyways. They were no fun. She turned on her heel and strutted inside.

And fell directly into the pool.

She couldn't help but laugh as she sank down, and the last thing she saw before blacking out was a hand grabbing her own.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: So yeah. It's been almost 4 months. Sorry. I haven't had time nor inspiration, but here we are. I have plans. Lots of plans. I know this chapter is short, but next one will be a doozy. Maybe. It may end up being short too I dunno. Probably not since we're gonna get a lot of Scout. And Link and Peach are going to finally have a meaningful conversation.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

A/N: The fact that this story has over 1250 total views on FF and over 500 on Ao3 is amazing. Thank you all so much! This chapter deals with a lot, so if you're sensitive to homophobia or war flashbacks, you might want to skip Scout's section.

Also shout out to Cloudswift12 on Ao3 for helping me work through some ideas because holy hecc there's a lot.

One more thing, there's a Discord called Super Smash Prose which is for SSB fanfic and y'all should join. The invite code is: zeHaT2Z

0-0-0-0-0

Alex Mulner had a reputation to keep up. If he was to rise up in the ranks and become popular, this party had to go great. He was already a Peripheral, so the cards were stacked against him. He didn't have any cool swords or magic powers that would catch people's attention.

This party was quickly becoming a disaster.

Someone had spilled a bottle of tequila on the floor. Haley, despite growing up in a house with hired cleaners, knew how to clean it up. "After all, I've had to hide multiple parties."

Some kid named Jeremy had locked himself inside a closet, freaking out about something incoherent. Luckily, Link and Zelda offered to help.

And then Peach nearly fucking drowned.

That killed the mood. Oh, and you know, she could have died. Thank God that one blue haired guy saved her. Peach was fine, although she did immediately vomit.

Just great.

Alex went up to his room and sat on his bed. Thank God no one had taken it over yet.

"You good?" Haley asked, appearing in the doorway.

"This is a disaster." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

She sat down next to him. "Yeah, but it's a weird time in general. At least people will talk about it." She rubbed his shoulderblade and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's not like this is the worst thing that could happen. At least no one vomited on someone intentionally."

Alex let out a slight chuckle. "You're right. I just… ugh, I feel alone here, you know."

Haley sighed. "Trust me. I know. But hey, we can turn that around." She gave him a knowing smile. "You know those really expensive speakers I got for my birthday?"

"You brought them?"

"Hell yeah I did! Duh!" She laughed a little and jumped up, grabbing Alex's hands and pulling him up. "Come on, let's save this party!"

Yeah, this wouldn't be too bad after all.

0-0-0-0-0

Scout shouldn't have been such a wreck. After all, he was at a party, right? Should'a been fun. Ping pong with some random goofy kid named Pit? Fuck yeah, sounded great! He made sure to be on the side that let him see the pool. After all, there were some real sexy chicks here, yeah? He'd give any of them a bucket a' chicken any time. Like that Peach chick. Damn. Or that blue haired girl that Terra was friends with.

Or Terra.

Fuck, now that was a problem. He used to only notice girls, right? That's what a normal boy does. They like girls, marry one, have a lot of kids, bing, bang, life is set out for you. Liking guys? Deviant. (Well, people called him a deviant for all the rights he got into, but that was different, right?)

It was all too much. The drinkin', all the talkin', all the half naked people, his meds. Too much. He needed to get outta there.

Whenever his brothers couldn't find anyone to fight, they'd often pick fights with each other. Or when his dad (well, not his real dad) was drunk, he'd beat the kids or Ma. Scout didn't wanna be a part of that, at least when he was a kid. So, he locked himself away in the hallway closet, hoping and praying no one would find him.

It was fitting that's where he ended up. This one smelled a little less like cigarettes, a little more like booze (or that was his own breath), and a little safer. He needed safe. After all, the world was spinning underneath him. The closet was comforting, like a hug. He needed a hug. He needed a lot of them. There was too much on his mind.

He'd only ever started noticing guys like he did with girls the day before.

You know Mrs. Shephard's scavenger hunt? Sounded dumb, but then he realized that it was free points for running around town and taking pictures of things. He didn't like staying at home, it was too quiet. So, he rode with Terra and planned on exploring while his friend worked at the McDonald's on 2nd Street.

Overall, the town was pretty neat. The people were weird as all hell, which was fine by Scout. His next stop was the New Leaf Bell Tower in the center of Square Park. The stairs were basically ladders, they were so steep, so he was out of breath when he got to the top.

The bell at the top didn't look like no ordinary bell. It looked like a giant jingle bell. He wondered if it actually worked. Oh well. He got out his tablet to take a selfie with it. When he looked at the picture, he noticed some dude in the background. "Hey, man, didn't see you there." He turned towards the man and had to do a double take.

The man was dressed like a hunter, with a red shirt, brown hunting vest, and a hat that almost looked like a cowboy hat. He was sitting on the wide concrete railing, back against one of the corner pillars. He had a book in one hand, and a cup of Starbeans Coffee in the other. However, his gaze, steely blue and focused as a hawk or somethin', was fixed on a building on the square. Scout had never seen this man, not in this life, but when he checked the Connections tab on his tablet, the familiar feeling became all too real.

"Holy shit, you're the Sniper."

The man looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm the wot?"

Oh, fuck. What if he didn't know who he was. Some people in town were aware, like that one Mettaton guy, but what if some weren't yet? Oh fuck, this guy probably thought he was some random Austrailian dude "I mean, uh, you're looking at that buildin' like you're gonna snipe someone down or somethin'." That sounded way worse, shit.

"Like I'm gonna wot now?"

Fuck fuck fuck. "I, uh, meant you looked focused." Scout was about to turn and leave when the man started laughing.

"I'm just pullin' yer leg, of course I'm the bloody Sniper!"

Scout had never been so relieved. He let out a breath. "So, uh, do you, uh…"

"Yeah, I know who you are, Scout." The man smiled faintly. "How could I forget a scamp like you?"

Scout realized that this was the perfect situation. He might finally get answers. "Mind if I sit with you for a bit? I haven't really been able to talk with anyone about, well, anything. I tried talking to Medic at school, but the ol' doc just told me to read my file."

"I don't mind, kid." Sniper moved his legs slightly so Scout could sit across from him.

"So, uh, mind if I ask what you're doing up here?" Scout asked, looking at the same building.

"Looking for our Spy."

Spy. Shit. "Really? Me too. Why, though?"

Sniper shrugged. "He's been evading us. The damn frenchman is hiding something. Why are you looking for him?"

"Cause he's my dad."

Sniper's eyebrows raised, and he tore his gaze from the building. "Well, that's a twist."

"I know, right? Like, I thought my dad was that asshole who beat Ma, but apparently it's some French asshole I've never met." Scout shrugged. He'd already processed it, so it didn't sting as much, but it was still weird. "Hey, uh, what's your name, anyway?"

"Mundy. Yours?"

"Jeremy. Though, Scout's a better name. Suits me better."

"Sniper suits me better too, I think." Sniper looked back to the building, and for a moment, they were quiet.

"Sniper?" Yeah, that sounded better than Mundy. "You said you remembered me. Do you get flashbacks too?"

His mouth pressed into a hard line. "Yeah. Ever since I found out, it's all I dream about."

"Same." At first, it was great. He could feel himself soar through the air, run faster than he ever could. But then, he remembered his deaths. Every one of them sent him to respawn, but it still hurt. He'd been shot, burned, beaten with a clone of his's baseball bat. Sure, he'd been beaten up in this life, but he'd never felt his own skull crack and puncture his brain.

And then, even worse, were the visions of killing other people. In his mind, he knew they were enemies. If he didn't act, they'd kill him first. But the ease in which his past self did it, and hell, the pleasure he took from it? It disgusted him.

"Are we killers, Sniper?" Scout didn't realize it before, but his eyes were all watery and stuff. He wiped his eyes, but when he looked back, all he could see was Sniper's brains spread across the pillar behind him. It was an all too familiar sight in his dreams.

Sniper sighed. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Like, in the other life, I killed versions of you hundreds of times." Scout pulled his knees to his chest. "But, like, I don't want to kill people. I don't think." Every dream made the thought of killing someone easier to swallow. It was disgusting.

"We can be better in this life," Sniper said, looking Scout in the eyes. Geez, Snipe's eyes were nice. "We don't have to kill anyone."

"But isn't that why we're here? To stop Grey Mann or whatever his name is?" Scout shook his head. "I dunno, I just want to be, you know?"

"I know that feeling." Sniper sighed. "I, uh, don't really have an answer for you, kid."

"That's okay. I just needed to talk about shit, and you're the only one who has any idea what I mean." Scout couldn't place it, but Sniper's presence, even after just meeting him, was comforting. Maybe because he was the only one from their universe who actually cared to let him talk. Maybe it was his honesty in the fact that he didn't know shit.

Maybe, it was because he was attractive.

The thought of a guy being attractive hadn't crossed Scout's mind, not like that. But something about Sniper's angular features and bluey-grey eyes were just… it drew Scout in.

No, no way in hell he was going for it. Nope. Sniper was a man. And not just in that he had a dick. He was, like, at least ten years older than him. Nope. Wasn't going to happen. Nuh-uh.

"Hey, uh, I'm gonna head out." Scout got up, trying not to think about anything.

"If you need to talk to someone, go to the Scottish Handshake. That's where the people from our universe tend to be." Sniper raised his coffee cup in a sort of goodbye gesture.

Someone pounded on the closet door. Right. He was here, at a party.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" It was the guy hosting the party. Alex? Yeah, Alex. "You seemed pretty freaked out."

Scout pushed himself further back against the wall. "Jus' leave m'lone!" Fuck, his voice was slurred. He couldn't cry, nope. Not going to. "Don' wanna come out!" He heard voices outside, asking if he was okay. No, he wasn't. How the hell could he be okay? He was attracted to a guy he'd killed a bunch in another life.

After a couple minutes, a girl spoke. "Hey, uh, Scout, are you alright?"

How did she know his name. He didn't know who she was. "No." No point in lying. Alcohol was like some truth serum or somethin'.

"Can I come in?"

He wanted to say no. He did. He wanted to stay locked up in this closet forever. But he didn't have the strength to say anything, so she came in anyway. He only saw her for a moment, but she had short blond hair and a ritzy vibe. She shut the door behind her, and then attempted to sit down on a box opposite him. She stumbled on her way down.

"Apologies. I'm a bit drunk." She giggled.

"Aren't we all?"

"So, what's got you in here?" The girl asked. "I, uh, doubt it's the decor."

"Nah, it's real classy in here." He almost laughed. Almost. "Have you ever killed someone?"

The air felt tense. Too tense. "Uh, no?"

"In m'old life, I did." Scout shrugged. "But, uh, yesterday I talked to someone from the same universe as me."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Killed a bunch'a copies of 'im in the other life." Scout pressed back even further. He couldn't get thoughts of Sniper out of his head. Whether it was killing him or kissing him, neither were good. "But, uh, that's not the main issue."

"Oh?"

"He's, uh, I dunno, I like the way he looks. Not supposed to, but I do." There were those tears again. He was a man, he shouldn't cry.

The girl put a hand on his knee. "So, I, uh… that's a weird one. Can't really help you with the first one, but, uh, so you're realizing you like guys?"

"It's so dumb. Ma always told me I needed to marry a girl, and I always liked girls. Still do. Girls are great. But, uh, now guys are too and it's weird and I don't know how to feel about it."

"Scout, it's okay to be bisexual."

"Bisexual?"

The girl laughed for a second. "Wait, you don't know what that means? It's 2019, man."

"Feels like I've been stuck in the 50s my whole life."

"It means you like guys and girls. I'm bisexual too." She rubbed his knee before removing her hand. "Oh, I'm Zelda, by the way!"

Scout sighed. "I dunno, it just feels wrong. Like, everything is changing all at once."

"It must be rough, dealing with your past and your sexuality all at once." Zelda sighed as well. "But, uh, if you need to talk to someone, I can help. Link can too. He's a good listener."

"He's that guy who protected that one chick, right?"

"Yeah, he's really brave." He swore he heard her swoon. "But yeah, if you need to talk, we're here for you. Plus, a lot of other people here are bi, so you're not alone." She hiccupped as she stood up. "You ready to come out?"

That was a loaded question. But you know, he was feeling a lot better. She offered her hand, and even though he could barely see it through the darkness, he took it.

The door opened, and the light hurt. But it was okay.

0-0-0-0-0

Link wanted to spend time with Zelda. That's the only reason he wanted to come. But even though she'd said she didn't just want to hang out with Peach and Daisy, as soon as they called her over, she left to go get drunk with them by the pool.

It wasn't too bad, though. Sora, Kairi, and Namine welcomed him to drink with them. It was all of their first times, so Link felt like an awful parent giving them shots of tequila, but it was enough to deter them from alcohol for a while. He really didn't want them to end up as alcoholics. They had a life ahead of them.

Link was supposed to. He didn't feel like it.

By the time he was reunited with Zelda, she was drunk. Not plastered, but definitely uneasy on her feet. They only had a few minutes before that Scout kid locked himself in a closet, and Zelda, being the amazing person she was, insisted on helping.

Turns out, he literally came out of the closet. He figured that one out when, as soon as Scout came out, he asked, "Hey, Link, are you bisexual too?"

"Scout, you can't just ask that!" Zelda looked like she didn't know whether to die or laugh.

Link would have like to say he had a dignified answer for that question. He really, really would have.

What came out was, "Yeah, man, dicks are great."

Zelda's face was redder than a tomato. Fuck, she was so cute. He just wanted to take her face in his hands and squish it. He wanted to do a lot of things to her face, honestly. Holy shit, she was cute.

Someone turned on music. Really poppy, really annoying music, but Zelda seemed to like it.

"Hey, Link, you wanna dance?" Zelda asked, face cooling back to normal.

And Link wanted nothing more than to dance with her. He nodded and let her guide him to the floor, where people were starting to dance. Zelda wasn't exactly good, but she was drunk and cute, so it didn't matter. She had decent rhythm (yeah, cause she played multiple instruments), but she was trying to hard.

Link wasn't trying hard enough. He ended up tripping and falling, right in front of everyone. Fuck. It felt like hundreds of faceless people were laughing.

Zelda was laughing.

"Hey, uh, I think I've had enough dancing for tonight." He said as he got up. Fuck. Why was everything so unsteady?

"Come on, don't sweat it. No one cares that you fell."

But he did. "Sorry."

He stumbled away from her and collapsed on the couch. He wanted to just hide away. Maybe that closet Scout was hiding in wasn't a bad idea. Speaking of, he heard a loud whoop of joy as Scout did some… jazzercise? On the dance floor. After a few moments, he slapped his own ass with one hand (the other pointing at no one in particular) and yelled, "Wooo, butt stuff!"

Well, he was over the whole internalized homophobia thing. Or was he? Who fucking knew?

His eyes swiveled over to Zelda, and she was dancing with a tall, buff, redheaded girl with blue lipstick. Wait, he knew her! She was Urbosa, a champion from one of his old lives! Why did he have so many pasts, anyway? Why was he so many people?

He watched as Urbosa grabbed Zelda by the hips and pulled her close, and Zelda seemed to really be into it.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

All Link wanted was to get out of there. He was about to stand up when someone crashed on the couch and leaned on his shoulder.

0-0-0-0-0

Peach was humiliated. Why wasn't she more composed? Why'd she have to wake up to Marth giving her mouth to mouth? Did she even need it? She felt a dull ache in her chest, like someone had haphazardly tried chest compressions.

"You idiot, you could have broken her ribs!" Aqua yelled.

"I was just tryin' to-"

Peach immediately sat up and vomited, luckily facing away from anyone.

"Leave it to the trained professionals next time!" She huffed.

Peach got up and muttered a small thanks to Marth. God, why'd this have to be such a mess? Before Marth could talk to her, she walked away and grabbed her stuff. She couldn't deal with him or Ike, not right now.

She went inside and ducked into the bathroom. Her reflection gazed back at her, makeup smudged and eyes bloodshot. She looked like shit. How was she supposed to face a party like this? She used a towel to try and dry off her little sundress, but it wasn't really working. Fuck.

She left the bathroom and realized she had to go somewhere. There was no way in hell she'd go dance. More alcohol? Nope. Honestly, she needed a break from everything.

So, that's how she ended up leaning on Link Everard's shoulder.

"Hey, Link, you don't seem like the kind of person to be at a party like this." Wow, Peach, great opener.

He shook his head. "Not really."

A thought bubble up through her throat, and she couldn't contain it. "You wanna ditch?"

Peach Toadstool wasn't the type to ditch a party. She also wasn't the type to fail at her advances, nearly drown, then vomit everywhere. She had to face it, leaving was her best option.

"Where would we go?" Link asked. Was Link drunk too? Nevermind, even if he wasn't, he wouldn't have a car. Daisy had driven, but she was busy having way too much fun flirting with that Demyx boy. Had they been flirting? Who knew?

"We could walk somewhere?" There was probably a fast food place somewhere close. "I can google if there's any restaurants open nearby."

"Sure."

She googled it, and the only place within a few blocks was an MTT-Brand Burger Emporium. Wait, that was the weird robot guy. Right? Yeah, yeah! Oh, that was about to be a fucking trip. "Well, shit, you wanna go get some burgers?"

Link just shrugged.

And so, the two of them wandered out the front door. This would probably be a hit to Peach's reputation if anyone noticed. After all, there wasn't a concrete social hierarchy yet. Everyone was still trying to figure out who was cool and who wasn't.

Link was cool. No one would care if he came and went as he pleased. After standing up for a near stranger on the first day, everyone would think he's the best. He was the coolest person in their school, and nothing would change that.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Holy shit. This chapter is apparently part two of a three parter. There's already a lot happening. Next chapter will get to where I want. This isn't gonna be grammar check, so yeah, sorry.

Again, thank you for the views. 80 people have read my entire story on , and it makes me so happy. Please make sure to review if you like it, or if you don't like it, or whatever. I can't wait to hear what all of you have to say. Also, y'all should seriously join that discord. The invite code is zeHaT2Z


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

A/N: If you're reading this in 2019 I did what I set out to do. Also, this chapter has nudity (though not graphically described) and loosely sexual content. Nothing is too explicit, but proceed with caution.

How the fuck did he end up wandering in an unfamiliar neighborhood with Peach fucking Toadstool? She wasn't the kind of girl who'd ever talk like a loner. She was the kind of girl who'd make fun of him back home. So why the hell were they going to a fucking burger place together in the middle of the night?

A better question, why did he even agree? He'd really wanted out of there, but with her? It wasn't that he didn't like her, but he couldn't get a good read on her. She defied expectations, but only sometimes.

"Have you been to any of Mettaton's shit?" Peach asked after they were a couple blocks from the party.

Link shook his head. A few orders from Shiveria Stock went there, but he'd never been.

"You're in for a treat. Dude is weird as balls." She was remarkably steady, especially since she was wearing wedge heels. She was already a couple inches taller than him, but man, she was extra tall. "That is, if he's there."

The restaurant was attached to a gas station and convenience store called Mettamart. God, why was this place so pink? They pushed the door before realizing it was a pull door, and then went inside.

"Ah, we have customers!" Oh geez, Peach was right. Two seconds in and this guy was already so extra. The man, presumably Mettaton, was standing in the small dining room, and he jumped in delight. "Burgerpants, get ready, we're about to make a sale!"

"I keep telling you, that's not my name." The guy at the register groaned.

The restaurant was otherwise empty. On a Friday night. Great.

"Mettaton, do you even sleep?" Peach asked.

"My dear, people like me don't need sleep." Mettaton winked.

Burgerpants mouthed to them, 'Cocaine, lots of cocaine'..

And suddenly everything made sense. The gears in Peach's brain seemed to click too, as she glanced from Burgerpants to Mettaton's smiling face. "Oh." She stared for a moment before shaking her head. "Yeah, uh, let's go order food, yeah?"

Link nodded, and the two went up to the counter. Man, Burgerpants seemed so stressed. Poor kid. "Welcome to MTT-Brand Burger Emporium, how may I take your order?"

"Would now be a good time to admit I've never eaten a burger?" Peach asked, dreamily looking at the menu. Link just looked at her like she was an alien. What the fuck? "Wait, what's a Glamburger?"

"Please don't order that. I had to eat it once and I was shitting glitter for a week." Burgerpats shivered at the memory. All Link could think of was a unicorn just… well, shitting glitter, and it sent him into a spiral of laughter? Why the hell was that so funny?

"You aren't supposed to say that! Now they won't want it!" Mettaton huffed.

"Oops, I'm so sorry." Burgerpants didn't sound sorry. Not one bit. "Glamburgers are our second best item on the menu, and certainly won't make you shit glitter. Would you like to try one?"

"Umm… I think not." Peach shook her head. 'I think not' what a pretentious way to say no. God, she oozed rich. "Just a normal burger and a water for me. Link, what are you getting?"

"Oh, uh, I can pay for my own." Link said, fumbling for his wallet.

"Nah, don't worry, I've got it."

"Uh, I guess the same thing?" Why the hell was she paying?

Burgerpants rang them up. "I'm supposed to upsell you by telling you there's a steak shaped like Mettaton's face. Would you like to add that to your total?"

"Wait, you can get that? Fuck yeah, add it!" Peach started laughing. "Bruh, why is that a thing?"

"Have you met the guy? He's fucking nuts." Burgerpants sighed and rang them up. Link didn't pay attention to the total. He didn't want to know how much he owed Peach. "Will that be for here or to go?"

"To go." Peach said without a second thought.

"What's the rush, darlings? Certainly you can stay here to eat your food!" Mettaton scoffed.

"Nah, man, you're weird as shit." Peach giggled. "Hey, Link, I'm gonna, uh, try and dry my dress off a little more. Mind waiting for our food?"

Link nodded. It was the least he could do.

Thankfully, Mettaton seemed more focused on scolding Burgerpants (what a name) for whatever, giving Link the chance to sit at a booth. Why was he even here? Why'd he follow Peach anyway? He could have stayed and maybe Zelda would come and talk to him again. Maybe? She seemed like she wanted to talk to him, at least at the start.

Then she followed Peach. Just like he had.

What was it about Peach, anyway? She was some spoiled rich valley girl who was probably unaware of anything outside her bubble. Even though Zelda was rich, she at least cared.

Link had known these people for four days. Maybe he shouldn't made his opinions so fast.

Peach was nice, at least. Everything about her screamed stereotypical mean girl, but she just… was nice. Loud and a bit inconsiderate of others, sure, but never outwardly mean. Party girl, yes, but… he didn't know.

After a few minutes, Burgerpants called their order number (which Link wasn't 100 percent sure was theirs, but the place was completely empty), and Link took the food. Was Peach okay? Would it be rude to knock on the bathroom door? Luckily, she emerged, dress draped around her forearm. Was she just going to wear her bathing suit? She'd also put her shoes in her large purse and had wiped off her makeup.

"You ready to head off, Link?" She tilted her head slightly.

Oh shit, Peach was really cute.

Link held up the food and nodded. Oh, oh no, this was… a development, that's for sure.

"Excuse me, young lady, but you have to wear proper clothing to be in here!" Mettaton yelled.

"Good think I'm leaving, huh?"

Okay, so maybe she was a bit mean.

The two left and started heading back the way they came. IF took a couple blocks before it really registered that Link had no idea where they were going. "Hey, uh, Peach?"

"Mhm?"

"Where are we going, anyway?"

She laughed. "I saw this path right by Alex's house. Was just going to wander down it and see where it goes."

That was a surpremely stupid idea. Link decided it was worth a shot. What's the worst that could happen? They had their phones. Everything would be just fine.

0-0-0-0-0

Peach was glad to have escaped from Mettaton. God, he was… a fucking weirdo. Last time it was funny. This time it was just weird.

As the duo passed by Alex's house, Peach hoped no one would see her. She was half naked, entirely makeupless, and just overall a mess. If anyone saw her, they didn't call her name, so she was in the clear.

Link went first down the path. He was so fucking brave. He used his phone's flashlight to light the way, and eventually, they ended up at a small dock on a lake. There was a lake around here? A shed nearby had the Mulner's name on it, so she supposed it would be okay to be out here. Right? No one was here to stop them.

"So, you've never had a burger?" Link asked, sitting down on the wooden planks. They didn't seem to bend or creak, so Peach felt comfortable sitting next to him. Her feet just barely didn't touch the water below.

"No, never. Dad always encouraged us to eat anything but American food." Peach sighed. "Anytime I've gotten to have fast food, I just get chicken or a salad."

"Us?"

"Me and Daisy. My parents basically raised her, considering her mom and dad never actually wanted kids." Link didn't seem to know how to respond, since he just handed her the burger. She peeled back the wrapper, and it looked… eh, it looked okay. "Here we go, I guess."

It tasted kind of gross, to be honest. Luckily, they still had the steak, so she just wrapped the burger back up. "I suppose I wasn't missing much, huh?" She chuckled before getting the steak out… and there was only plastic silverware, and no plate to speak of.

"These burgers are only okay." Link shrugged.

"Hey, uh, Link, dumb question, but do you have a plate?" Peach chuckled.

Link just looked at her. He probably thought she was an idiot.

"Glad I'm not that hungry then." She sighed and set the bag back down.

Link put down his burger (How did he already eat half of it?) and looked in the bag. He grabbed the steak and picked it up, and in a gross display of boyish disregard for manners, held it to his face and took a bite like it was a common burger.

Peach couldn't help but laugh. It was so fucking easy, yet she hadn't thought about it. Link handed the steak to her, and she didn't care for undignified it was, she bit into the dam steak. It was pretty good, actually. Probably was better 20 minutes ago, but it was nice and tender.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, eating their food. Link finished off both of the burgers, and Peach ate about half the steak before passing it back to Link. He ate that quickly too. Man, boys had so much better metabolism.

"Hey, Peach? You ever gotten high?"

Peach, in fact, had not been high. She had considered it, and Daisy offered a couple times, but she'd never tried. There wasn't any particular reason, though. "Nah, why?"

"You wanna?"

And Peach thought that was an amazing idea. "Sure!"

0-0-0-0-0

Link had never actually had to teach someone to smoke out of a bowl before. It was a challenge, considering they were both drunk, but eventually, Peach manage to get the hang of it. After a couple hits, she was giggly as shit.

"Why didn't I try this before?" Peach grinned and laid back.

Link laid back with her, content to just chill. He needed a nap, honestly. If it wasn't so hot, it would be perfect.

"Hey, did it get hotter out here?" Peach asked, sitting back up. "It feels like my bikini's just sticking to me." Link had tried to ignore the fact that she was half naked, but now that she'd called attention to it, he couldn't help but notice how cute her pink polka-dotted swimsuit was. Honestly, she made it even cuter than it would've been on anyone else.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna take it off."

And holy shit, she wasn't joking. She started stripping down, and Link immediately sat up and looked the other direction. Fuck, this was weird. A hot girl was just… getting naked. Why?

"You know, you can look if you want." Peach said. Link, against better judgement, decided to look, and yep, she was naked. Fully, completely naked. She was beautiful, too, with tan line revealing paler skin than he thought she had. Should he stare? He didn't want to be rude, but she was inviting him, so maybe he should? She was clearly stoned, with eyes glossy and red, but Link never lost his mind while high, so it's not like she wasn't into this.

He didn't stare, but he took her form in. She was curvy and looked so soft, even though her calves betrayed more muscle than he expected. She did play various sports, so it made sense.

He must have been quiet for too long, because she started to laugh. "You know, if it makes things easier, you can take off your clothes too." She bit her lip, and Link wanted to listen to her. What was Peach doing to him?

She was paying attention to him, that's what.

Link took off his shirt, and he suddenly knew what she was talking about. It seemed to cling to his flesh as he worked it off. Was he really that sweaty? How hadn't he noticed? His cargo pants were a little less of a hassle, but then he was down to his underwear. It wasn't like he hadn't been naked in front of people before. He wasn't exactly a virgin, caught between that half way part of fooling around with people but never going all the way. The few people he'd been with were fellow loners, quiet kids who just wanted a little interaction with no pressure to speak afterwards.

Peach was nothing like the others. She was popular and bubbly and sweet, and she was exactly what he needed right then and there.

He took off his boxers, and there was no going back.

She gave him the same kind of gaze he did: curious, but not lingering. Well, until she saw his chest, that is. "Hey, Link? Uh, where are your nipples?"

Right. She hadn't seem him. "It's a birth defect." He felt the need to cover his chest, but as he raised his arms, Peach grabbed them.

"No need to hide." Her voice was so sweet, it tasted like heaven. She guided his hands to her body, and hers went to his, and soon enough, they were kissing, and everything was going to be alright. Link had never considered himself a good kisser, but Peach made it so easy. It was like she was reading his mind.

He ended up on his back, the dampness barely registering against Peach's weight on top of him. Her hands were in his hair, pulling him, needing him.

Was this it? Was this how it was going to go?

His phone started to ring. Fuck. Peach groaned a bit, muttering to ignore it, but his phone never rang. He reached over to his pants and checked who it was. "Zelda?" He asked, answering the phone?

"Link! Did you already leave?"

He hadn't fully left, he guessed. The house was still in view, and he wondered if anyone could see them. But he wasn't going back in. There way no way in hell. "Yeah."

"Oh." Was she… disappointed? "You should have said bye. Uh, I'm leaving too. Urbosa's taking me to her place, so I don't have to drive drunk." Oh. "Anyway, uh, see you Monday, I guess." She didn't even give him the chance to say goodbye, she just hung up. Up near the house, Link heard a car pull away.

No. No, no, no. He hadn't fucked up that bad, had he? He wanted to run back up the path and apologize for just ditching her, but Peach was still on top o him, and he just… "Fuck," He muttered to himself. He'd really fucked this up.

"You like her, don't you?" Peach asked, voice surprisingly kind. She got off of him and just sat next to him. "I should have noticed."

He expected Peach to throw some kind of fit, but she didn't. She wore a sad smile, and even though she seemed a bit disappointed, seemed to understand everything.

"I'm sorry." Link sighed and sat up.

"It's okay. Trust me, it's fine."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, which stretched into an eternity. He messed this all up, and now everyone was hurt.

"You know, I think you and Zelda would be cute together," Peach said after a while.

Link was confused. Shouldn't she be upset? Even if it was just for a night, she wanted him, right? "What?"

"Yeah. I can help you, if you want."

"I thought you wanted to, uh-"

"I mean, yeah, you're a hot piece of ass, but you also just seem like a cool dude, and I wanna be your friend." Peach gave him a genuine smile. It was a bit weird, hearing that from a still naked girl, but everything was weird. "So, you want me to help you?"

Link nodded.

"Cool. Let's go back to my place, then. It's hot." Peach stood up and started gathering her clothes.

"Uh, are you good to drive?" Wait, they were going to her house? What? Why? Link started to get dressed.

"No, silly, I'm getting a Lyft."

And that was that.

0-0-0-0-0

Zelda was worried when she couldn't find Link. She knew he probably just slipped out without saying goodbye, and the call confirmed that, but it still sucked. She really wanted to spend time with him. It was her first time getting drunk, and she just felt safe with him.

Thankfully, she felt safe with Urbosa too. The two were friends in their old life, and she knew she could trust her. Why hadn't they talked before? Then again, she knew a lot of people, and it had only been a few days.

Urbosa's car was comfy. They were going to her place to get away from everything for a bit and sober up, then Zelda was going to drive home. She supposed she didn't have to go home, but she wanted to be there in the morning, even if Dad wouldn't be.

She got her tablet out and got on the chatroom. These things were a bit clunky, but for some reason, everyone felt compelled to keep theirs on them. She doubted many people would be on, but it was worth a shot.

Zelda H: Hey, does anyone know why Link left so early? He was there one second, and gone the next.

Aqua C: Afraid not.

Malon F: aww, he's gone? Damn, i wanted to chill with him

No answers, of course. He was probably just not feeling it. He didn't seem like the party type. It wasn't a big deal.

Stahl B: I think he left with Peach?

Oh. He… oh. So that's why. She didn't blame him. Peach was cute, like, really cute, but she seemed like a bit of a disaster. She knew Link could make his own decisions, but she still worried a bit.

"You want to pick up food on our way? We don't have much at home." Urbosa asked.

Zelda put down the tablet and grinned. "Yeah, sure!" She didn't need to worry about him. He was smart.

0-0-0-0-0

Link woke up the next morning in a room he didn't recognize. The bed beneath him was soft, and his clothes were even softer. Where the hell was he?

He sat up, and his head pounded. Luckily, there was a glass of water on the bedstand, along with a bottle of ibuprofen his phone. Hey, nice, it was even plugged in. He checked the time. 12:06 PM. Not bad.

Right. He was at Peach's house. He looked at his clothes, and he was wearing a slightly too long pair of sweatpants and a tank top. At least she had the sense to dress him in something masculine. He took the medicine, grabbed his phone, and left the room, and was confronted by a large hallway. Wait, holy shit, this wasn't just a house. This was a mansion. He picked a direction and started to wander.

Eventually, he ran into a woman who looked just like Peach, but older. She turned around and saw him. "Oh, you're Link, aren't you? Peach told me we had a guest, but you were already asleep when I got home." She gave a friendly smile. "I'm Juliette, Peach's mom."

"Nice to meet you." Link nodded.

"The girls are in the living room playing some kart racing game. I can take you to them, if you want."

Link nodded again. "Wait, uh, where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they probably got thrown in the washer. I'll check the laundry room in a few." She grinned and started down the hall, and Link followed. "You know, I'm glad Peach is making friends. I figured she wouldn't have any issues, but it's still reassuring."

Link didn't really have anything to say, so he just followed. After a minute, they went down a wide, curved set of stairs. There they were, playing video games like it was nothing.

"You know, girls, I found your friend wandering upstairs. You should have left him directions." Peach's mom chuckled.

Peach got up. "Yeah, sorry about that." She smiled back. "Sleep well, Link?"

He nodded. Damn, he really did.

"I'll go check on your clothes, Link. And we can take you home when you're ready, but feel free to hang out as long as the girls want you here." Her mom smiled and went down a different hall.

"Hey, sleepy head." Daisy grinned. "I heard you crashed almost as soon as you got here."

That sounded about right. He shrugged.

"Wanna play some Kart Racer?" Peach asked, offering a controller in his direction.

It was weird, she was just acting like a normal friend, like last night didn't play out like it did. He looked into her eyes, and he could tell that there was something more to their connection than normal friendship. But, you know what, he just needed a friend, no matter what that entailed.

He accepted the controller.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: This chapter didn't play out how I originally planned, but you know what, it works. I wrote most of this in one go, so please point out any mistakes. Thank you for nearly 1400 FF views (Only 16 away as I type this!) and 600 on AO3 (exactly 5 away), it means the world to me. If you enjoyed it, please review! I live on reviews. Now that the current kind of arc is mostly over, I'd love ideas.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Mondays sucked. They always did, but that didn't stop Link from groaning as his alarm went off. The day before was nice, and he got to spend most of the afternoon and the entire night to himself, but it still wasn't enough alone time. He wasn't ready for Axel banging on his door, telling him it was time to go.

He wasn't ready to face Zelda.

But he had to, and he sure as hell wasn't going to skip. He wanted to, be he also didn't want to flunk out. Even if he wasn't returning to Earth once he had the chance to leave, he wanted to at least a non-failure in this world.

Gods, he wasn't ready.

He got to school and went to homeroom. Shit, Zelda was already there. She gave him a quick wave when he sat down.

"Hey, Link, enjoy the party?"

He shrugged. It was… a thing that happened.

"I figured that was the case since you left early." She shrugged and got on her phone. "Me and Urbosa went to this place called MTT-Brand Burger Emporium. Have I told you about Mettaton? He's wild, man."

Link already knew, but he let her talk. Apparently, they had a similar experience.

After a couple minutes, Peach and Daisy walked in. "Hey, Link! Hey, Zelda!" Peach smiled as she walked by. Zelda's face flashed with an emotion Link didn't quite recognize, but quickly returned to normal.

"Oh, hey, did I tell you I'm running for Student Council President?" Zelda asked after Peach passed by.

Link nodded. He was pretty sure she mentioned it, at least. It sounded right.

"Yeah, it's going to be great! Urbosa's hoping to be my Vice President, so we're going to design posters tonight and hang them around school tomorrow." She grinned. "Have you met Urbosa yet, by the way? She's super cool."

Link hadn't properly met Urbosa, but he knew enough about her. Usually, he'd be fine with her, but after the party… he wasn't sure if he really wanted to talk to the girl the girl he liked liked. Man, that was a weird phrase. He shrugged.

"You'll vote for us, right Link?"

He nodded. Despite the awkwardness of it all, he figured they'd be good candidates. And besides, Zelda was still his friend, even if she was probably a little mad at him for ditching her. He just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him.

0-0-0-0-0

Larxene had a great time at the party. You see, she had an eye for when things were about to happen, and she always just happened to have her phone on her. She had quite a few innocent shots of people just having fun (a few asked her to take pictures of them, which was a bit annoying, but oh well, drunk pictures), but she also had a few more, let's say, useful shots.

She managed to get video of Peach falling into the pool, including Marth saving her and her throwing up afterwards. It had woo purposes, really: it could show how much of a disaster Peach was, or, if they needed to make Marth look good, it was a prime example of his heroic nature. The second one was much less likely, but it could still be useful.

She got a few shots of Zelda being drunk, which, while not particularly incriminating, could damage her a bit. Zelda could be a threat, since she was friends with the heroiest hero of them all, Link.

Speaking of Link, oh boy did she had dirt on him. Larxene had just gone outside for a bit of a breather, when on the dock, she happened upon two lovebirds smoking pot. They were a bit far away, but once she used her phone's camera to zoom in, she realized it was Link and Peach. Perfect. When they started stripping down, she cackled in delight.

She and Marluxia weren't planning on using those photos just yet. After all, they didn't have the following they'd need. At the moment, their Ninten Academy Memes page on Instagram didn't have a whole lot of followers, but eventually it would. Once they had a platform, they could change from just innocent enough memes to thinly veiled gossip, and they could cause some havoc.

It would help if that Stahl guy would submit better memes. Jeez, why'd he have to be so PG all the time? Link himself had submitted a couple passable ones, but the best ones came from Axel and Demyx.

She couldn't wait until Marluxia was ready to move on with their plan. While she knew it would take time, she was already itching to start.

0-0-0-0-0

Axel Reese was always a mess and a half, but first period history class? He may as well have been two whole messes. His rowmates Rosalina and Sidon were no help, either. Rosalina was always staring off into space, and Sidon (who, fun fact, shared every class with him) was either taking notes on his tablet, or, more likely, chatting on it. Mr Lowell didn't seem to notice, since luckily, they were all in the back row. It helped that Sidon would occassionally ask a not stupid question, just enought to satify their teacher.

He already couldn't wait to go home and get blazed off his ass with Demyx. They didn't officially live together, but they may as well have. It was nice to have found a smoking buddy so fast.

Eh, fuck it, it was time to get on the chatroom.

Demyx H: axel help

Axel R: ?

Demyx H: i'm stuck in math and suzies beign a bitch

Jeremy S: ITS TRUE

[Console]: Welcome Peach T to the chat!

Axel R: rip in pieces

Peach T: histroy with mr shephard for me

Ren A: same

Ike G: ms sheikah's english class

Demyx H: damn does ayone have anything interesting?

Peach T: if they did they wouldn't be here

[Console]: Welcome Kairi M to the chat!

Axel R: exactly

Demyx H: fair

Sidon S: like we're training to save the world

Peach T: mhm  
[Console]: Welcome Lucina L to the chat!

Axel R: welcome welceom

Sidon S: why do we have to do boring stuff like history

Abigail C: i'd kill to be in a history class right now

Axel R: why?

Abigail C: better than english

Paya S: agreed

Peach T: okay but mrs shephard is cool

Sidon S: fair

Axel R: counterpoint

Axel R: Waluigi

Peach T: WHY?

Demyx H: gotta be better than mewtwo

Jeremy S: MEWTWO SUCKS

Kairi M: Can we all agree that Miss Mina is a treasure to be cherished?

Lucina L: agreed

Xion M: ^^

Demyx H: i like that we don't have to do much

Sidon S: Miss Alphys is also a bean

Peach T: she's so nervous though

Axel R: Waluigi's a bean too

Peach T: sTOP

Ren A: you're joking right

Axel R: duh, but it bothers peach when i say it

[Console]: Say goodbye to Xion M!

Peach T: rood

Demyx H: ye rude

Axel R: you're cute when you're mad

Peach T: Alex we aren't even in the same room

Peach T: Axel*

Axel R: :o are you cheatig on me?

Jeremy S: WAIT YOU GUYS ARE DATUNG?

Peach T: no

Axel R: nah but i'd tap

Demyx H: i'm right here axel

Axel R: it's okay i can handle both of you

[Console]: Welcome Aqua C to the chat!

Peach T: i dunno, can you handle this?

Aqua C: ...are you guy seriously arranging a threesome in the official school chatroom?

Axel R: yes

Demyx H: yes

Peach T: yes

Aqua C: Wow…

[Console]: Say goodbye to Aqua C!

Jeremy S: CAN I JOIN

Axel R: i mean sure we can make it an orgy

Jeremy S: I MEAN IM NOT READY FOR THE GAY SHIT

Demyx H: bruh

Axel R: then why did you ask to join the flaming bisexual orgy

Kairi M: are you guys being serious

Axel R: ye

Peach T: wait we are?

Demyx H: no idea

Sidon S: guyys stop being horny on main

Kairi M: ^^^

[Console]: Welcome Yuffie K to the chat!

Yuffie K: geez yall are horny as shit

[Console]: Welcome Haley C to the chat!

[Console]: Welcome Caeda M to the chat!

Ike G: agreed

Peach T: uh sorry guys

Axel R: it's not like there's any chance this chat is actually monitored

Axel R: they removed the fucking swear filter

Axel R: and scout literally asked if there would be cocaine at a party

Jeremy S: THERE WASN'T ANY THOUGH

Peach T: sweetie that's not the point

Kairi M: fair

Axel R: like honestly they'd send us all to therapy

Lucina L: oh my god i need to go

Ren A: ^^^

Axel R: but has anyone had a teacher talk to them about the chat?

Demyx H: nah

Jeremy S: NOPE

Kairi M: i guess not

Axel R: exactly

Axel R: so we can say whatever we want

Paya S: but not everyone wants to hear about your sex life

Axel R: like how Mr. Lowell is super fucking hot

Lucina L: yOU CANT SAY THAT

Ren A: i mean  
Kairi M: ye i can see that

Peach T: he is tho

Demyx H: yee

Lucina L: HE'S MY FATHER

Axel R: Lucy's dad has got it going on~~~

Lucina L: STOP

[Console]: Say goodbye to Lucina L!

Paya S: axel why are you like this

Axel R: mom asked me that all the time ;)

Before Axel could reply, Mr. Lowell cleared his throat. Fuck. "It has come to my attention that my students have been saying some interesting things about our teachers." Wait, Lucina told her dad? What a buzzkill. "Since it's clear that it's a distaction, I'll no longer permit students to use their tablets during lectures."

Groans erupted from the room. What the hell was Lucina's problem, anyway? Axel looked at the clock, and it was almost time to go anyway. Fuck it, he was gonna ditch.

"Axel, where do you think you're going."

"Bathroom." He shoved open the door and left. Should he care about school? Probably. But he had other shit on his mind. He started wandering down the hall, but he heard footsteps behind him. Jeez, was Mr. Lowell following him?

He turned around. It was that Roxas kid. "Hey, Axel!"

"What's up, kid?"

"I dunno, you left and I was bored, anyway, so fuck it, right?" Roxas shrugged. "Besides, I think we have a lot to talk about."

They did. They really, really did. Their relationship was complicated in the other world. For most of the time they spent together, they weren't quite human, and didn't really have emotions. Except they did, sort of. Honestly, Axel couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Yeah, let's walk."

"So, uh, me and Xion were wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime?" Right, Xion. He'd talked to her exactly once. Then again, she never approached him. "Maybe go to the pool or something?"

"Yeah, sure. My apartment complex has a pool, if you guys are broke like me." Axel shrugged.

He could feel the tension in the air. This should have been easy for him. He never had issues making friends, despite being an asshole.

"Why are you marked as a villian, anyway?" Roxas asked. "I read your file, and dude, you sacrificed yourself to save me. How isn't that a hero thing?"

"Beats me. I don't remember shit." He did, he remembered a lot. He remembered hurting his friends, killing people without a second thought. He could just snap his fingers, and bam, dead, burnt to ashes. "Probably cause I'm a dick."

Roxas didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but the bell rung. "Hey, Axel, wanna skip next class?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

0-0-0-0-0

Peach hated math class. It wasn't that she was bad at it, either. She was actually really, really good at everything but calculus. For whatever reason, though, she was put in the Basic Math class. The only thing that saved her was that Mr. Waluigi put the homework assignment on the board, and he never assigned more than 20 problems, so she could knock them out then dick around. Seriously, why were they learning how to calculate slopes on a straight line? It was the easiest shit in the world. God damn. Even Daisy agreed it was easy.

Of course, that meant one thing. Time to dick around on the chatroom.

[Console]: Welcome Peach T to the chat!

Terra B: heyo

[Console]: Welcome Daisy S to the chat!

Peach T: hai

Midna K: honestly though, I can't wait to get back to battling.

Roy E: fucking same

Terra B: same, makes me feel strong

Link E: Terra you offered me a hug after you hit me in the face with your keyblade

[Console]: Welcome Sidon S to the chat!

Peach T: oh yo link

Link E: o/

Terra B: yeah, i felt so strong i was worried i hurt you

Hayner A: man i wish i was learning to fight

Sidon S: peripheral?

Hayner A: yeah

Abigail C: oof same

Alex M: same

Link E: rip

[Console]: Welcome Marth L to the chat!

[Console]: Welcome Ike G to the chat!

Shit. Why did all the boys she was somehow involved with have to be in the same chat? She hadn't talked to Ike or Marth since the party. Daisy had explained what happened, and fuck she embarassed herself. She'd been rejected before, but jeez. She took a moment to consider her options. She could ignore it, but she knew it would weigh on her until she dealt with it.

And so, she created a private group chat.

Peach T: So, I'm here to apologize for my actions at the party.

Peach T: While I was drunk, that was no excuse for harassing you guys.

Peach T: I'll understand if you guys don't want to talk to me after this, but I just needed to apologize.

Ike G: I mean, you were drunk. Like, really drunk.

Ike G: I've done stupid things too.

Marth L: To be honest, if I didn't have Ike and Lucina around, who knows if I would have been able to pace myself.

Peach T: It's still not an excuse…

Marth L: You certainly made my first party a night to remember.

Peach T: Wait, that wa your first? I'm so sorry…

Marth L: Apology accepted. Don't beat yourself up.

Ike G: Yeah, just don't get that drunk again and we're good.

Peach T: Wait, you guys are forgiving me that easily?

Marth L: I mean, holding a grudge would just make everything more awkward.

Ike G: Besides, aren't we supposed to be working together to save the world? As long as we learn from our mistakes, I think it's important to forgive each other.

Peach T: ...You know, I thought this would go way worse.

Peach T: I'm used to drama, I guess.

Marth L: I'm gonna get back to class, but I appreciate your apology.

Ike G: Same. See you at lunch?

Peach T: Sure :)

And just like that, everything was back to normal. Seriously, that was too easy. If some girl aggressively hit on her after being rejected, Peach wouldn't exactly be cool after two days. Ike and Marth were honestly too nice.

Well, it made life easier for her.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: So, uh, sorry this took three months. My keyboard is wonky, so my ability to write for long periods of time is a bit… not there. But hey, it's working during my state's lockdown, so silver linings to no longer having a job an my unemployment being denied. Oh well, life goes on. Please practice social distancing and wash your hands. Don't hoard toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or masks. Especially masks. Nurses need them more than you, I promise.

I love you all. Times are weird, but please stay safe. I'll try and work on updates more often, if for no other reason than to keep myself from going stir crazy.


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